General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: If You Are A Baby Boomer - the real reason YOU SHOULD BE FURIOUS over CPI cuts: [View all]truedelphi
(32,324 posts)AmericanAnt over on DailyKos considered the problem, mathematically speaking:
"The math on this is interesting, IMHO (3+ / 0-)
"According to the linked site, if you have a full benefits retirement age of 67 and retire at age 62 your monthly benefit is reduced by 30%.
"Meanwhile, their actuaries claim that the life expectancy for people who retired in 2000 was 81 for males and 84 for females. So, lets assume that I live to 81 (since I'm a male, but I assume that OleHippieChick is either a female or a poultry farmer) and compare the outcomes.
"81-62 is 19 years of benefits at 70% of the rate, or the equivalent of 13.3 years at the 100% level. 81-67 is 14 years, you can see that you end up slightly worse off if you live to the expected age, but only by about 5%.
"The break-even point is 16.67 years of early retirement vs. 11.67 years of full retirement, or about 2.33 years shorter than average life expectancy. Clearly if you have an inkling about your particular chances based on health, family history, etc. you might well be advised to take one or the other based on that information.
"If you were to live to 90, in the early retirement scenario you collect 19.6 years worth of full benefits, but would have gotten 23 years of benefits if you had waited to 67. This turns out to be about a 15% reduction overall.
"Clearly, the goal is to retire early and die young
"