Worth delaying Social Security until FRA? Stuck between early claiming and waiting - need real advice

This is such a common dilemma! I'm a retired financial advisor who specialized in retirement planning. The FRA vs. early claiming decision depends on several factors beyond just the break-even calculation: 1. Longevity expectations - given your family history, you might well live beyond the break-even point 2. Current income needs - seems like you have other income sources to potentially bridge the gap 3. Spousal benefits - your spouse's SSDI complicates things, but may provide flexibility 4. Earnings test - since you're still working, remember you'll be subject to the earnings limit before FRA (approximately $21,240 in 2025) One strategy worth considering: if your part-time income is close to the earnings limit, you might continue working until you reach FRA while delaying benefits. This maximizes both your earnings and your eventual SS benefit. Do you have any other sources of income besides your part-time work and your spouse's SSDI?

i took mine at 62 and NEVER regretted it!! who knows if we'll even be here tomrrow? take the $$ and enjoy life now is what i say. break even points dont matter if your not alive to see them lol

Have you looked at your annual statement from SSA to see the exact difference between claiming at different ages? It's not just FRA vs 62 - every month you delay between 62 and 70 increases your benefit. I wanted to see my actual numbers but couldn't get through to SSA for WEEKS. Kept calling and getting disconnected or waiting on hold forever. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 5 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got my actual numbers, it made the decision much clearer for me. I decided to split the difference and claim at 65 instead of 62 or my FRA of 67.

There's actually a HUGE factor you're not considering in your calculations!!! If you're working while collecting SS before FRA, the SSA will DEDUCT $1 from your benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit ($21,240 in 2025). So if you're making $19K part-time and that increases at all, you'll lose some of your SS benefits anyway! Also, don't forget about the TAXATION of your benefits. Up to 85% of your SS can be taxed depending on your combined income. This is something people often overlook when making this decision. Another thing - have you considered spousal benefits? Even though your spouse is on SSDI now, when they reach FRA, that converts to regular retirement benefits. Depending on your relative earnings histories, there might be strategies there worth exploring.

my aunt waited til 70 to get the maximum and then died at 72. what a waste! take it early and enjoy life while you can

Have you considered splitting the difference? You don't have to file exactly at 62 or exactly at FRA. You could pick a point in between that balances getting benefits sooner with minimizing the reduction. For each month you delay after 62, the reduction decreases. I was in a similar situation and decided to claim at 65. This gave me a benefit that was about 86% of my FRA amount instead of the 70% I would have received at 62. For me, this felt like the right balance between claiming early and maximizing the monthly amount.

One thing nobody has mentioned yet - what about inflation? Does waiting for a larger benefit make sense when inflation might eat away at the purchasing power? I'm genuinely curious what people think about this factor.

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful responses! You've given me a lot to consider that I hadn't thought about before - especially the earnings test, taxation issues, and the idea of choosing a middle ground rather than extremes. I'm going to try getting my exact numbers from SSA using that contact service someone mentioned, then sit down with these new considerations and make a more informed decision. This has been incredibly helpful!

One other thing to consider - your health insurance situation. Are you on your spouse's plan? Will you be eligible for Medicare soon? The health insurance factor can sometimes tip the scales one way or another depending on your situation.