Still Clickin

This is a new one on me. I always thought that the start date for Social Security was final. Once you made your choice of a start date you were locked into that decision forever.

Apparently, that is not the case. Just like kids playing a game or weekend golfers, you do have the opportunity for a do-over. During the past year, 71 people restarted their Social Security benefits clock. It may have cost them a worthy sum, but they were actually able to do it.

Don’t rush out to your Social Security Office just yet. The nasty fly in the ointment is that you first have to write a check out to Social Security for the total of all of the benefits you have received to date. No wonder only 71 people made the choice.

But it may be worth going through the exercise just to see what would be involved. Here is the drill.

1. Go through your records and calculate the total amount you have received from Social Security to date. That amount includes all benefits, including those deducted for Medicare.
2. Calculate how much additional you would receive from Social Security if your start date was two or three months from now. The Social Security web site does not disclose specific rates but does explain how rates are adjusted for different start dates.
3. For comparison purposes, calculate what the relative interest rate would be to achieve a similar return on that total amount of money you would have to pay. If it seems to make sense for you, then the next steps apply.
4. Download Form 521, Request for Withdrawal of Application, from the Social Security web site and fill it out.
5. Visit your local Social Security office in person. Their web site also will give you the location of the local office.
6. Social Security will process your request, and -

• your benefits will stop almost immediately,
• you will receive a statement from them specifying the amount you will have to repay,
• you will wait 2-3 months for the higher benefits to start being paid.

Obviously, this deal is not for many people. However, if you have some cash available, it may be worth reviewing the option. There is an good article in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance that describes the process in greater detail. It may not be a deal for many people, but it is nice to know it’s possible.

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For “those of a certain age”, loneliness has to rank near the top of the special concerns. Health probably comes first because its lack preempts so many other things. Independence probably comes next because it directly impacts our sense of self worth. All of the concerns about money are directly related to independence.

Loneliness must come next because it can become so pervasive throughout your life. It can certain take some of the zip out of your stride, and if it isn’t combated, it can quickly lead to depression.

After a move to a new location, the loss of a spouse, or the departure of long time friends, loneliness can find us and weigh us down. It stalks us throughout our day and can lure us into a swamp of self pity.

The last time most seniors encountered such bouts of loneliness was, ironically, during their teenage years. Those time of loneliness and depression were profound but very temporary. This time around, in senescence, the bouts can last much longer without the resilience of youth to cast them off.

What actions can you take?

1. Force yourself to be active! Get out of bed. Get out of the house. Get going. Activity forces you into contact with others whose struggles often far exceed your own.
2. For a quick fix, take a trip with a tour group.
3. At mealtimes, use the TV to divert your attention away from the fact that you are alone.
4. Get some regular exercise, even if it has to be limited to walking the shopping mall. Churning your blood will revive your spirits.
5. Take a class at a local community college or center in something totally new.
6. Join a bridge-book-sewing-hiking-cooking group.
7. Volunteer at the local library, hospital, or school.
8. Get a job which will force you to become engaged each day. Although the pay is modest, retailers are always looking for people to staff their stores.

Everyone has to develop their own unique action plan to combat the specter of loneliness. If you are unsure, try some things and give yourself permission to make some mistakes. The mistakes aren’t important, the effort of trying is. You may soon find yourself engaged in a novel activity and surprised by how much you love doing it.

You may also like this NY Times article by Jane Brody on The Will to Live.

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Once we became eligible, my wife used to laugh whenever we went out to the movies. I would very firmly declare “two seniors” at the ticket window to secure the discount, while she would observe that we were grouped together with the children on the discount scale.

In many ways, we seniors are coupled with children. Both are subjected to age prejudice for the same reason, i.e. we are not viewed as major players in contemporary society. Our experience can be seen as passé, and our contacts have diminished through sickness, retirement, and death.

We also receive the same brand of prejudice, i.e. the “look through” brand of prejudice rather than the more hurtful “look away” variety. Because we are not viewed as players, we are ignored rather than avoided. It is a kinder form of prejudice, but it is still very frustrating.

How do you deal with this mindset during a job search?

1. To combat age prejudice, the first person you have to convince of its inaccuracy is yourself. If you allow yourself to focus upon, or be intimidated by, this barrier, it has achieved its exclusionary objective. Do not let it compromise your action plan.
2. Humor is the most effective weapon against prejudice of any kind. In a few quick words, it both recognizes the reality of that prejudice while at the same time removing the venom from its stinger. Remember how, in a presidential debate, Regan deftly responded that he would not use his opponent’s youth and inexperience against him. That classic zinger defused the entire age issue in that race.
3. In a job search, revise your resume to downplay the dates and stress the experience. You also may want to omit some early work and focus upon more recent activities.
4. Don’t be afraid to spend some time in volunteer efforts. These situations can present you with an opportunity to demonstrate your skills, make new contacts, and heighten your sense of self worth while producing a benefit for others.
5. As has always been the case in a job search at any age, contacts are your most important resource. Leverage your own as well as your children’s.

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This decision can be quite different for seniors than it is for younger adults. For seniors,

• the tax deduction for mortgage interest is less attractive because, with mature or no mortgage payments and lower tax brackets, it can have little impact.

• the leverage of home equity is limited to reverse mortgages, the last will, or medical expenses.

• the headaches of home maintenance can be burdensome.

• the exposure to significant homeowner association assessments can be worrisome.

Although renting frees a senior from these issues, it comes with issues of its own.

• Rents can, and do, rise.

• The ownership of rental properties can, and often does, change.

• The level of care and maintenance exercised by any landlord can vary greatly.

• Neighbors can change more frequently.

Whether it is less expensive to rent or buy depends entirely upon the market. When rental properties are scarce and demand is high, the cost of owning might prove to be more attractive. If the balance is reversed, the opposite is true. An interesting financial analysis can be made by dividing the market price of a home by the annual rent of a similar home in the same neighborhood as described in a recent article in the Ny Times. The result of that calculation was referred to as the rent ratio. In this article, the author makes an interesting comparison that when the rent ratio exceeds 20, it is financially smarter to rent.

Finances, however, are only one part of the equation. Each day you defer the choice of where you want to “just be” carries its own cost as well. Your relationship to a view, an ambiance, or a neighborhood carries its own rewards.

How should you proceed in making this decision? Some practical steps are -

1. Talk to a banker or financial professional to determine what is possible financially.
2. Learn about the real estate rights and laws for renters in your state.
3. If you can afford to, let the decision be influenced by your lifestyle, e.g. freeing yourself from the need to rake the leaves from the yard.
4. Visit any rental property both during the week and on the weekend, and note the activity and friendliness of the people you see.
5. Let your final choice be guided by the place where you want to be each day.

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