I had an inkling that money that was not being distributed from a retirement account could be a nest egg whose return on investment could be worth more than the extra amount that would be paid by Social Security by delaying taking it. I used figures from my own Social Security statement for distribution at ages 62 (the earliest possible age) & 70 (the latest possible age), and then looked at possible ages of my demise going up all the way to 100, and a range of APR returns. I did not factor in taxes nor the possibility of Social Security getting a haircut or tweaking, but it's pretty obvious that the effects of all this would favor taking it early - indeed, I almost expect that this will happen. I also didn't factor in the Roth IRA - which I am using as the retirement account (through Roth laddering, I am fully Rothed out) - being taxed, but I have a hunch that that will never be politically viable except for folks with really big Roth balances. I also presumed that the APR return is in real terms, so it takes into account the COLAs that Social Security will get.
It turns out that at about a return of only 7%, it makes sense.
