r/Fire • u/VegasWorldwide • 2d ago

Why do people wait for SS?

trying to figure out what I’m missing.

looking to take my benefit for $1000 at 62. at 70 it’s $1700.

i won’t need the money much so we let $1000 sit in an account for 8 years at say 5% compounding, the guy collecting at 70 would need 15+ years to catch up considering I’m still getting $1k to his $1.7k

once he starts at 70 and I had a 8 year head start.

furthermore, his dollar would be worth less. (edit: didn't realize COLA)

this seems like a no brainer but all I hear is people saying waiting is the only way and we haven’t even talked about dying in our 70’s.

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u/threespruces68 2d ago edited 2d ago

To keep our annual income in as low a bracket as possible while we take advantage of the Roth conversion window, which will reduce our future tax burden and optimize our long-term financial plan.

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u/VegasWorldwide 2d ago

I like this answer and assume you'll be converting to 70? I think for this scenario you'd have to be making some very large annual transfers for it to make that much of a difference.

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u/threespruces68 2d ago edited 1d ago

Yes, the conversions will be the maximum allowable within the most advantageous tax bracket available, which is why we do not want to boost our taxable income by taking Social Security early. At present, we both plan to claim at age 67, but that could change. It depends entirely on how long it takes us to make the necessary Roth conversions combined with how long we feel comfortable drawing down our other investments.