I am 62. My current benefits at 62 won be $1645/month. Full retirement would be $2256. at age 70 $2887. I have 2 daughters under the age of 18. Birthdates August 26, 2001 and February 21 2008. It seems like their eligibility for benefits makes it seem like I need to take retirement at 62 in order to not leave money on the table. t
The oldest daughter would receive $846/mo for 3 months until she turns 18. The younger daughter would also receive $846/mo for the 3 months and then receive $1128/mo for 78 months. this combined with my benefit of taking social security at 62 would be $1645. According to my calculations and the time value of money this would be around $300,000. before my youngest turns 18. So is it a good idea to take social security now to noe "leave this on the table." I am trying to run this through maximixemysocialsecurity.com but am having difficulty making thins work as I also have a state pension of $52,000 a year and I did pay social security on the income that created the pension. Thank you very much.

Hi,

I'll preface by explaining that I answer the questions submitted to this forum, but I don't have access to our software customers' information. If you're having problems with the software or questions about your specific results, please submit an online customer contact form available on the help menu. Your questions will then be answered by one of our experts with access to your data.

Whether or not you and your daughters could be paid benefits before you reach your full retirement age (FRA) depends on your expected annual earnings (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). If your earnings will be low enough to permit benefits to be paid then filing early so that your children can draw benefits is certainly something to consider, but I can't make that decision for you. The potential downside is that by drawing benefits early you will then be stuck with a lower monthly benefit amount for as long as you live, and it could also result in a lower monthly survivor rate if you leave behind a widow or ex-wife. Your best bet is to run all of your numbers on the software and then decide which option you believe would best serve your family's needs in the long run.

As far as your state pension is concerned, as long as you paid Social Security taxes on all of your earnings under that plan you pension will not have any effect on your Social Security benefits or filing options.

Best, Jerry