I'm Divorced, 65 June 2016. Son-lives with mother, I pay support, she takes deduction, turned 17 May 2016. From what I read, I can take early SS and in addition he is eligible while in high school for up to 50% of my SS in addition my what I receive, for the balance of his 17th year. I'll get about 2150 per month by taking SS early. Seems to me that extra 1000/mo for my son is worthwhile, especially as I have 2 stents and no prostate, so living to 95 is not too serious a consideration. Am I wrong? best, Frank

Dear Frank,

When it's best for you to take your retirement benefit will depend on your maximum, not your expected age of life. You could die at 90 or later. So you take a risk when you take benefits early. Effectively, you gamble that you'll die young. Please run our software, which I know you've purchased, with different maximum ages of life to get a sense of how much this factor matter to your optimal decision. Also, if you specify a relatively low maximum age of life, the optimal solution will likely be to have you collect your retirement benefit right now and then when your reach 66, suspend it and start it up again at 70. This will provide benefits for your son through the remainder of his high school days.

My best, Larry