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I am of the opinion that taking Social Security at the earliest practicable age makes sense for me and probably for a lot of other folks as well. A lot of press in recent years, by financial advisors and others, stress delaying taking Soc Sec in order to reap a higher monthly benefit, to help "reduce" the risk of outliving one's assets and income Granted, this risk does exist and should be a cause of great concern for retirees. On the other hand, another and perhaps "greater" risk is the possibility of losing part or all of the contributions we make to Social Security over our lifetime. A daily perusing of the obituary section will show many people dying before retirement age or long before they have recouped their investment into the program. After age 62, each year one waits to draw SS increases the risk of not only getting a "return" on your contributions but of getting a "return" of your contributions. The potential loss is huge and as a measure of risk is one that should be considered seriously. To conclude, I believe that if one is able to retire comfortably, does not need to continue working for income and does not love their job enough to outweigh all the math, then retiring as early as possible and taking SS makes the most sense from a "risk" standpoint. Regards, ole meph Originally posted in thread: 55481

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