When to apply for Social Security?

[question everything]

Not there yet but like many we have considered tapping our 401Ks and IRAs first and wait until we are 70 - if we can - when the projected payment will be almost twice if we start at 62.

However an acquaintance told me to "do the math." That he calculated it would take him 11 years to catch up if he waited to 70, and that the SS site has some kind of a calculator.

Anyone knows where it is?

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. Here ya go.,....

The page below has a schedule that shows the percentage reduction for retiring early. If you are, as you say, "not there yet" but close to age 62, then one could assume you were born in the range of years the SSA has determined retirement age is 66 - from 1943 through 1954. The table shows your reduction (how much less you would get if you decide not to wait until age 66) is 25% The maximum reduction is 30%, so if you wait you don't really stand to receive a payment "almost twice" the amount.

http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/agereduction.htm

Here is the page with the calculators on it;

http://www.ssa.gov/planners/calculators.htm

Calculator # 2 would give you a pretty accurate estimate of benefit payments but it requires you enter all the earnings information on your annual statement sent to you by the SSA - kind of tedious, but there you go.

[question everything]

2. Thanks. There is a lot of info there

No, by almost twice I meant benefits at 62 and at 70 ($872 vs. $1,527)

62 is not even in consideration but we are debating of whether to wait to 70 and until then to tap our 401Ks and IRAs.

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. Ah...gotcha. Sorry.

Are you planning on leaving your 401(K)'s in place after you leave the company or have you considered rolling it/them into your IRA(s)?

[question everything]

4. Have not decided yet

We kept former employer's 401Ks for 17 years and last summer finally rolled them into an IRA. The funds were mostly with Vanguard and did pretty well. I calculated 10% yearly increase without us adding a single penny.

Current ones are doing well, too. The question would be whether it is better, and simpler, to keep all the funds with one caretaker like Vanguard, or is it better to diversify.

[A HERETIC I AM]

5. Here is a few articles that address the question

"Three Common Mistakes in Mutual Fund Investing"

http://www.seninvest.com/article5.htm

Here is the home page of the above website;

http://www.seninvest.com/

http://mutualfunds.about.com/od/mutualfunds101/fr/stylebox.htm

http://www.fool.com/investing/mutual-funds/2007/04/13/the-perfect-mutual-fund-portfolio.aspx

There are as many opinions as you could want on this subject. Searching Google for "Mutual Fund Diversification" gave 1.98 million results.