I have read many articles where most advisors recommend waiting until age 70 to start SS for longevity insurance, and I agree that the correct answer by default is to wait until age 70 if longevity insurance is your main goal. But, for those who have significant assets and are not worried about longevity insurance, how do you decide whether to start at FRA vs age 70? I plan to retire at FRA in 2021 with no debt and have rental properties which I don't plan to sell and have significant stock investments earning anywhere from 4% to 6% in dividends. All are long-term investments with huge gains, so if I delay my SS until age 70, I would need to sell about $36k/yr of my stock investments to make up for the SS I would not be taking for those 4 years ($144k) and I would need to pay taxes on those gains and would lose the 4% to 5% in dividend income permanently. So, my question is, how does that factor into my decision on whether to start at FRA or wait until age 70. I'm not talking about taking my SS and investing it. I'm talking about having to sell existing income earning assets to use the money to live on when I retire year because I would be delaying my SS. Please let me know what you think the best option would be... With kindest regards, Will

Hi Will,

All of the things you mention would obviously factor into your decision of when to start collecting your Social Security benefits. All I can tell you is that if you were born in 1955, then your Social Security retirement benefit rate would be roughly 30.66% higher if you wait until age 70 to start collecting your benefits vs. starting at your full retirement age (FRA). You don't mention your marital status, but that higher rate could also potentially be passed along to a widow(er) in the form of survivor benefits.

The bottom line is that no one knows what the future holds, so the decision on when to start drawing your benefits is always a judgment call. If you knew when you were going to die, the decision of when to start drawing your benefits would be greatly simplified. Therefore, each person must consider all of the factors involved in their unique set of circumstances to make the best decision possible. You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to help you with your decision. Or, it sounds like you may benefit from using our MaxiFi Planner (https://maxifiplanner.com/retirement-planning-maxifi).

Best, Jerry