What’s wrong with women? As usual, nothing at all that kicking sexist cultural norms
in the nuts wouldn’t cure.
Today I read yet another online article on why one should not
start taking Social Security benefits until full retirement age, and even age
70. The author, as they generally do,
especially decries the female penchant for retirement at age 62. You’re read all the mathematically-based
reasons to wait. Let me point out some
reasons why people are not stupid or ignorant for starting benefits early.
Argument #1: You get a bigger paycheck in your 80s and 90s
if you wait to start collecting in your 70th year.
Absolutely true. You
can look at your family tree and decide that you come from long-lived stock and
you probably will live long and prosper.
However, do be aware that by doing that, you give up $20,000/year of
income for 8 years. In order to recoup that, you have to live to at least 83. Will you?
Are you sure? If you’re not sure,
then game theory suggests that you are not stupid to go for the bird in the
hand. My sister comes of long-lived
stock and she never retired. She died at
age 65 because, her DNA notwithstanding, she hated doctors and didn’t get a
problem checked out, which ended up killing her. She got $0 in benefits for her 40 years of
hard labor. Which brings us to….
Argument #2:
Practically everyone will live to their 80s and 90s.
Actually, we won’t. Half
of us who reach 60 will die in our 60s and 70s.
That 60 is the new 40 rubbish
conveniently forgets statistics. Some of
us develop serious health problems in our 50s and 60s. Many women need to retire before full
retirement age because of serious health problems. And at least half of us will succumb to
something before we hit 80. So, no, age
isn’t just a number. Our bodies have a
sell-by date. If you are gifted with
strong DNA, be grateful. Don’t be
arrogant. Be grateful. Be grateful every day. If you feel compelled to give someone advice
on how they could instantly solve their health problems with Positive Thinking,
take a deep breath, and shut up. Take
another deep breath and continue shutting up.
Stay that way for the rest of your life.
Excellent.
Argument #3: Women will live longer than men, so they
should be super-diligent about not retiring until at least full-retirement
age. Why do they keep taking retirement
at age 62? They’re insane!
No, they’re not insane, they are conventional. Men consistently look for wives who are on
average 5-8 years younger than them. And
they expect their women to be moons to their planet, ready to accommodate what
they are doing in their lives to what the Mister wants. So when Himself retires, he will be 66 or 70
and his wife will be – how old now? That’s
right, 62 or younger. By age 62, she has
an impatient spouse who wants to buy an RV, travel, golf and expects his
lifetime sidekick to be on his page, not someone who says “Sorry, dear, I have
to wait to collect benefits – perhaps continue working – until age 66 to
maximize my economic security when you are dead and buried.” At a practical level, if you want to have
some fun with the old geezer, who is likely to kick the bucket at a younger age
than you, you’d better grab the gusto now.
And you need to retire now, so you can have two retirement checks to pay
for the RV, the travel and the health care.
Which brings us to a REAL problem that these articles usually miss, and that is: whoever gets sick first, ends up using up most/all of the available cash on THEIR needs, leaving the surviving spouse destitute or close to it. And guess who, statistically-speaking, dies first? And who ends up in dire poverty? THAT is a good reason to postpone retirement, ladies. That comfortable block of retirement savings will go up in smoke when Himself gets sick. He’ll demand it. You’ll either lovingly allow it, or be too afraid to say “It’s time to let go, dear” when he wants another round of fruitless or low-probability treatment, and the rest of the family is just as terrified to let go as he is – and who won’t be subsidizing your grocery bill when it’s all over and you’re beyond broke.
This is the only really compelling argument for living on his Social Security plus pension only,
and leaving your spouse or personal-income entitlement untapped until your own
full retirement age. A couple fewer
trips for him, equals a better chance of staying out of really dire poverty for
you. Someone who truly loves you won’t
put his pleasure ahead of your safety.
Human behavior, as in the case of women who take early
retirement, is usually not irrational at all, when looked at from the frame of
reference of the person making the choices.
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