A Change of Plans About When I Took Social Security (and the Bureaucratic Frustrations That Followed)

By Marla McCune, Guest Writer

Eight-plus years ago, in preparation for retirement, my husband and I made some big changes. I was about to turn 60, and we consolidated most of our accounts into the hands of a shrewd and deceitful financial planner who promised to provide comprehensive navigation, including retirement and tax planning, with negligible fees.

Please don’t be swayed by those free informational dinners!

I very quickly regretted the decision and discovered the lies and manipulations, and less than a year later, I tried to move everything back into my Charles Schwab account. In spite of losing over $500,000 due to non-paying, non-redeemable REITs and other deceptively high-fee funds, I learned a great deal. I have managed our finances successfully ever since, and our net worth has more than doubled in that time. This happened with me working very part-time and my husband retiring.

I learned about FINRA and successfully sued our advisor, but I still have several hundred thousand dollars tied up in non-paying REITs that we may never be able to sell. I liquidated my 10-year deferred annuity (part of my traditional IRA funds) after the insurance company mistakenly sent me an unauthorized early taxable withdrawal. Hopefully, I am not being overconfident that I can beat the 5% payout starting at age 70 without any cost-of-living increases. I would never recommend this particular high commission insurance product, and I wish I had dumped it earlier than 2024.

After eight years of self-managing our funds and averaging over 9% per year, I was feeling confident. But I learned that even the retirement decisions that don’t feel particularly complicated can get messy if you change your mind.

Changing My Mind on When to Take Social Security

We were planning to delay our Social Security payments until we both turned 70, and we would continue to do large Roth conversions in the meantime. I would keep our income just below the first IRMMA cliff to avoid triggering a Medicare payment increase. We sold our rentals, and we were simplifying our lives.

I have always been a saver. We have no mortgage; drive older, well-maintained vehicles; and have a big garden. Because of our low expenses and savings, the biggest item in our budget now is travel. We essentially have won the game.

But since the 2024 presidential election, the rules appeared to change at this critical time of semi-retirement. Social Security and Medicare seem less certain, and I fear they could be siphoned off, even though we paid into them—not our government. Because of this uncertainty, I began to rethink my retirement funding plan.

In February 2025, I began to reconsider taking my Social Security earlier—in part just to see if I could—and to see if there would be any glitches. I regularly checked my statement with projections and found it frustrating that nothing was certain; they were, as they said, projections.

It took several calls and waiting several days for a call back. But the representative assured me that if I started payments at once, my check would be much higher immediately at age 68 than my statement said I would get at age 70, and for every month I delayed, it would increase by $23 per month until age 70. He repeatedly insisted this was accurate information, and based on that, I applied online that very day, Valentine’s Day.

Electing to start my benefits was an easy process. Over a month later, my application had not been approved, and I finally learned the number of the office managing my application. It was sent to another city in Washington state that “handles uncomplicated applications” rather than my local office. I called four more times to check on my application, and each time, I was given a different estimate of my monthly benefit. The monthly payment amount varied by almost $2,000, but it still had not been processed. On the fifth phone call, I talked to a very nice, competent-sounding woman who processed it on the spot.

I still had to wait for my online account to verify my payment amount, which was disappointingly less than the highest projection but at least close to what my earlier Social Security statement projections showed. I called in again and found that the credits for my delayed months past my full retirement age will not be applied until 2026 and that Social Security is paid the following month after it is earned. This is unlike Medicare payments, which are taken out a month in advance. Since May 2025, I have gotten my direct deposit check every second Wednesday of each month with my Medicare premium automatically deducted.

More information here:

10 Reasons NOT to Take Social Security Early

The Consequences of Ignoring Social Security

Did I Make a Mistake?

In evaluating our new strategy, I wonder if I did the right thing. I can't do the large Roth conversions as I had planned without bumping our income over the first IRRMA cliff, which means our Medicare payments and income tax rate would be higher. It’s not that we can’t afford to pay it, but it goes against my “get the best deal” mentality. For now, we have decided to delay my husband’s Social Security payments until age 70. He was the higher earner.

I continue to work about 15-20 hours a week as a hospital RN when we’re not travelling. I find work very enjoyable and stress-free, because after 48 years, I finally have complete control over my work situation and hours. My income is now primarily used for paying our taxes incurred as we withdraw from the taxable account for expenses and continue making Roth conversions.

Now, however, I am thinking it is time to start using my traditional IRA funds for income rather than continuing to be taxed on Roth conversions and still need income. It is difficult for me to move from the accumulation stage to the withdrawal stage, but we will have a higher tax rate than ever before when we are both taking RMDs if I don’t start withdrawing more.

I guess it is a good problem to have.

After the traditional IRA funds are more depleted each year, I will use a combination of Roth funds and brokerage account funds to keep taxes lower. The brokerage account has appreciated in value significantly over the years, so any remainder will pass to my heirs using the step up in basis at death.

More information here:

Social Security Is Not Going Away (But You Might Have to Adjust Your Plans)

The Bottom Line

Would I make the same choice again to take my Social Security before age 70? Probably, only because of the political uncertainty. How sad would it be to work all those years and never get any of that money back! But of course, figuring out whether it's a good deal all depends on how long I live. There’s also this disadvantage: my Social Security payment is actually smaller, considering I am still paying into it with each paycheck.

Another planning glitch happened this year. Since my husband and I are over 65, we could have each taken advantage of the extra $6,000 senior deduction if our income were lower, but I had already made a large Roth conversion in January, ruling that out.

I lay awake at night thinking of the possibilities. Maybe for the next few years, I will work less and keep our income low enough to get the full senior deduction and keep our tax bill low while supplementing our income with low-rate capital gains. This is very appealing to me since I can’t say I 100% approve of how our tax dollars are being spent anyway. It would be an opportunity that will be gone once we’re both taking Social Security income and the required RMDs.

For now, I dream on, knowing I may again change my mind.

[FOUNDER'S NOTE FROM DR. JIM DAHLE: When making a decision about when to take Social Security, I know of no better resource than Mike Piper's excellent and free OpenSocialSecurity.com. If that doesn't help you confidently make your “when to claim” decision, it's time to get some professional help. As a general rule, when in good health, a single person and the higher earner in a couple should wait until age 70, but that doesn't mean both members of a couple should wait.]

What do you think? When will you take Social Security? Have you or anyone you know actually changed their mind about Social Security payments? What happened?

The post A Change of Plans About When I Took Social Security (and the Bureaucratic Frustrations That Followed) appeared first on The White Coat Investor - Investing & Personal Finance for Doctors.