@SeaGreenEyez I took mine early when I figured out how long I would have to live to catch up to the money I didn't collect in those years.

@Sticks48 that’s exactly what I did. If I had worked to 67, my official retirement age I would have had to live to I think 93 to really come out ahead. And even then, not that much.

@Barnie2years Yes sir. That is the way I figured it too.

@Sticks48, and your calculations assumed that Social Security would survive that long.

@mcgeo52 It probably will. The Millennials are about as large in numbers as the Boomers, and I have read even larger. They will be filling the coffers.

@mcgeo52, that’s kind of the point. If it’s going to run out why not go out early and collect as long as you can. If you die or the system dies, at least you got some of your money out. Not that I expect it to go away. Seniors would start a revolution!

@Barnie2years, I agree. That was one of the considerations when I started collecting at 65 instead of waiting until 67.

Also, I would imagine that you just did a straight calculation of payments over time and did not include present value (i.e., include interest if the money was invested). In my case the over time calculation came out to 92+. With the present value calculation it was over 100. How far over 100 depended on the interest variable.

@mcgeo52 I also could not calculate the raises. It was based on my initial check's value.

@Sticks48 it wouldn't matter what the raises are, since they are a percentage of your annual payments and everyone gets the same percentage. So the difference would pretty much stay the same. I was basing it on my annual report our company handed out every year which gave the current and future (67 and 70) payouts. Plus I had the shits of working! And if I live long enough I will inherit some money which will off set any loss. I am making with my pension almost what I was working 40 hours a week, so it really didn't give me any incentive to stay on the job.