Ask Paula - I'm Retiring at 53. How Will Early Retirement Impact My Social Security?

Published: March 12, 2018, 7 a.m.

#120: Roger Whitney, age 51, calls himself The Retirement Answer Man. As a financial planner, investment analyst and podcast host, he focuses on helping Baby Boomers craft a traditional (past-age-60) retirement.\n Today, he joins me to answer two questions that come in from our community.\n Our first question is from Emily, who says:\n \u201cI\u2019m trying to help my mom decide if she should retire.\u201d\n \u201cMy dad was a CPA and then a CFO, making great money, until 16 years ago when he was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers. My mom never took care of their finances before, or knew anything them \u2026 she took a few years to get everything in order, but during that time, they burnt through their retirement savings.\u201d\n Their house sold in fall 2009, for just enough money to cover their mortgage balance and keep another $75,000 to invest.\n Today, Emily\u2019s mom is 64 and wants to retire. She\u2019d like to use her small investment balance to buy a home outright, in cash, so she won\u2019t have to worry about rent or mortgage in retirement.\n Emily\u2019s recommendation is that her mom waits until she\u2019s 65 so she gets Medicare. But what if market correction happens? Will they regret not cashing out the investment at the peak?\n Our second question is from Yvonne, who asks:\n I\u2019m 52, and I\u2019m going to retire at age 53-and-a-half. (Hooray!!)\n I\u2019ve been getting notices from Social Security, telling me that \u201cif I keep working\u201d until age 62, or 65, my payment will be such-and-such amount. The key words, of course, are \u201cif I keep working.\u201d\n How will an early retirement affect my Social Security benefits?\n ___\n After taking these two calls, Roger and I chat about his new book, Rock Retirement.\n We\u2019re also GIVING AWAY 10 FREE COPIES of Rock Retirement. To enter the contest, go to http://Instagram.com/paulapant, follow the account, find the photo of the book cover, and like and comment on that photo. We\u2019ll pick 10 lucky winners who will receive a free copy of the book in the mail. The contest entry deadline is Sunday, March 18th, 2018 at 5 pm Pacific. Winners will be notified by direct message (DM) on Instagram.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices