Hello,
My mom currently is receiving survivor/widow benefits from my Dad's social security account. He made less money than her/earned less credits over his lifetime so his amount is lower than hers. She can live on this fine, and it is holding her over till she decides to begin taking her own benefit. It seems like the longer she waits to take her own benefit, it 'seasons' the calculation a bit...She gets more in perpetuity the longer she waits to start.
I've calculated the amounts in the attachment with some back of the napkin math...not including any return/growth that she may be able to experience if she 'had the money now' kinda thing. Personally I feel since the incremental amounts are so small (a few grand this way or that), any return she'd earn on the money she invested and didn't spend would be pretty inconsequential, but maybe that's just me). (Say if she only needs $18k/yr to live on but she started receiving the $23k per year instead, now, she could invest the difference of $5k each year. That would add up to $15k and change, plus some growth...which I don't think wins out over just waiting till age 70 and immediately getting $10k more per year forever.)
I mainly compare the difference between if she switched to her own benefit now (at age 67), vs. waiting till Age 70...the in between amounts seem like moot points. What do you guys think? Should she wait till age 70 to switch to her own benefit? Seems like the best choice right? Thanks for any help.