Dear Liz: I’m confused by your answer to the question about starting Social Security too early. You wrote that someone who decides they made a mistake can suspend the benefit once they reach full retirement age. From the description, it sounds like there is no penalty for this option, so everyone should do it! This sounds too good to be true, so I (and maybe others) might be misinterpreting this. It sounds like you get early benefits from 62 to full retirement age, then the full delayed benefit at 70.
Answer: Keep in mind that your Social Security benefit is permanently reduced when you start it early. The earlier you start, the bigger the reduction.
Social Security allows you to suspend your benefit once you’ve reached full retirement age (currently between age 66 to 67). While it’s suspended, your benefit will receive delayed retirement credits that will increase your checks by 8% each year until age 70. Your benefit also continues to receive cost of living adjustments, whether you’re currently receiving it or not.
A suspension can help you offset some of the reduction you incurred by starting early, but you’ll never get as much as if you’d waited until age 70 to apply.
I do understand that as an early, 62 receiver of my benefits and I can suspend them at full retirement age,66 + and continue to receive credits until they automatically restart at age 70. My question is: In suspending them at full retirement age will the Torpedo Tax still apply??? All comments will be greatly appreciated. Oh and the reason I started ss early is because my wife is a school teacher and won’t qualify to receive any of my ss benefits. So why drawl down my IRA when I can leave a larger portion if something were to happen to me.
That’s a good question for a tax pro, but delaying until age 70 and tapping other benefits is cited in this article as a way to ameliorate the tax torpedo effects: https://www.financialplanningassociation.org/sites/default/files/2020-09/July2018_Contribution_Reichenstein.pdf