[fieldgrade]

I am not knowledgeable about any change, but a five year average would "penalize" anyone who retired early, either by choice or otherwise, or who were pushed down into lower paying jobs in the recent economic debacle.

Let's say someone gets shucked out of their lifetime career in their late fifties, and starts collecting their 401K at 59.5. You can't collect any SS till you are 62, and even then it's reduced until you are 65. You can collect a higher monthly amount if you wait till 70, but of course you will collect it for 5 or 8 years less, depending on whether you would have started at 62 or 65.

 

[fieldgrade]

I stated incorrectly. It used to be highest 5 years. I think. Like I said, I'm not very knowledgeable at all on SS.

Going from highest 5 years to a 35 year average has to be a HUGE change in the amount they pay out. If I understand it correctly, we just got screwed. And very quietly.

I used to get annual statements from the SSA through 2010, then they stopped. In my last statement (2010) there was some discussion about the future insolvency of the SSA Trust Fund and that laws would be changing in 2016.

 

[fieldgrade]

To set up a "MySocialSecurity" account at the .gov website to see what your benefit estimates are, they want to run your credit at Experian for some reason. Or at least they did the last time I checked a year or so ago. I have my credit "frozen" and didn't want to know bad enough to fool with unfreezing it.

 

[fieldgrade]

Just did a little research. It is based on your "highest 35 years" and these earnings are adjusted for inflation. That adjustment is key.

 

[fieldgrade]

My old man died at 67 and his dad at 69 before him. Everybody else in the family lives into their 90's, so Im not sure what best to do. I calculated that I'd have to live into my late 70's to justify putting it off from 62 to 66 1/2 when I'm eligible for regular SS. I think I'll start at 62, which of course will mean I'll then live to 112.

 

[fieldgrade]

I like this longevity plan far better than one that involves giving up bacon or booze.

It's more precise than Murphy's Law. It's based on Fieldgrade's Razor which states that, "Things WILL go wrong."

 

[fieldgrade]

I think that it has something to do with the credit reporting companies. If his credit is frozen nothing can be opened in his name without first "unfreezing" it via direct communication by himself.

What does this mean?

You can log in to the three credit reporting agencies and place a "freeze" on each so no one can run your credit, and thus no one can set up an account in your name if your identity has been compromised.

You can temporarily "unfreeze" your credit if you are seeking a credit card, car loan, mortgage, rental application, whatever. I have both mine, my wife's and my old mom's credit frozen.