Small social security for those of us who were SAHMs...........

[Teacher Terry]

SS was meant to be 1 leg of a 3 legged stool. The other 2 were your pension & your savings. Now very few people get pensions.

[kib]

I just ran the estimator. They did ask for my SS# and the number was bigger than $840 so I guess they're considering my personal scenario. On the other hand, changing my estimated per year earnings between now and retirement age from $0 to $25000 didn't move the numbers one bit.

... Funny, it doesn't look like a whole lot, but OTOH, I still know how to live on the amount they predict. Of course I don't know how realistic that would be 15 years from now, but I find the number, small as it is, reassuring. ... assuming the number has some basis in reality. Sigh.

Question I'm sure has been asked a thousand times: are you going to take the minimum when you hit 62, or wait it out?

[Ultralight]

I looked at my earnings record. Wow... so all over the place since my first job in 1997! haha

As recently as 2007 and 2009 I made zero dollars -- no income for those years.

[Tammy]

I would never ask my kids to support me. I would offer things like renting a room from them at half the cost of normal rent. Then we both benefit.

[iris lilies]

I looked at my earnings record. Wow... so all over the place since my first job in 1997! haha

As recently as 2007 and 2009 I made zero dollars -- no income for those years.

So you must have been racking up that $150,000. I have to ask, why are you doing nothing with your MLS degree? I would think that many of those jobs quality for student debt forgiveness in public service.

[Ultralight]

I would never ask my kids to support me. I would offer things like renting a room from them at half the cost of normal rent. Then we both benefit.

Do you expect it to come to this?

[Ultralight]

So you must have been racking up that $150,000. I have to ask, why are you doing nothing with your MLS degree? I would think that many of those jobs quality for student debt forgiveness in public service.

I am a researcher for a public university. So I am using my MLIS. And I am one year into the ten needed for public service loan forgiveness.

I was racking up debt back then, for some of those years. But I was also just living on a shoestring budget. I have never had many wants or a big lust for expensive things.

[iris lilies]

...Question I'm sure has been asked a thousand times: are you going to take the minimum when you hit 62, or wait it out?

I am taking SS at age 62, that's next year. DH will likely wait longer. He will likely live longer.

I don't worry about squeezing every penny out of SS because we purposely saved lots of money to spend it now. HAHA, that is, I am trying very hard not to "worry" because when we look at our net worth statement, as we do only 1X annually, it will be down not even counting market activity. Yeah, it's not a big deal, yeah, my stash is disappearing, who me worry? While those 4% draw down projections are nice, I don't have an idea if that's reasonable for us or not, and it is not (I keep telling myself) my life's goal to preserve the capital.

[Tammy]

I don't. That's my worst case scenario.

I have a 4 legged stool:

SS
Az state retirement system
IRAs
1/4 of an Ohio farm

If two legs collapse I will still be ok

My goal is to have inheritance to give my 3 kids - rather than having them pay for me

[Ultralight]

I don't. That's my worst case scenario.

I have a 4 legged stool:

SS
Az state retirement system
IRAs
1/4 of an Ohio farm

If two legs collapse I will still be ok

My goal is to have inheritance to give my 3 kids - rather than having them pay for me

You are on point!!