Cmarlin, I'd offer that the big question is not whether you need the money at 62, but what your money needs might be 20-30 years later (assuming you plan on even possibly sticking around). I'm fresh off some tedious number crunching and surprised at just how damaging inflation can be over a long time. Of course I knew inflation was a beast, I just didn't know it was quite that bad. And while Quicken Financial Planner says everything is fine and the Monte Carlo simulator says everything is fine, laying it out by hand and seeing our living expenses dollars double over 20 years and triple over 32 years was a bit shocking. (I used 3.5% for inflation.) Some of our income streams will be fixed and others, well, I'm not convinced the COL increases can really keep pace. Not to that degree. But every bit helps. In our scenario the numbers happen to work better over time with me taking mine early and for DH to take his (larger) as late as possible.

Thanks, jennmonkey. I went to see my neurologist yesterday and told him about the difficulty I am having sleeping, because I have to sleep on my stomach to get any sleep. He touched the lower part of my back and asked if it hurt there and I almost jumped off the table. I am scheduled for an MRI on 1/24 so I'll be anxious to see what is going on and why I have daily back pain. I don't know if the degenerative disc disease is worse or if there is something else happening. My lawyer told me I have a good case, so I'll have to be patient for about a year until SS gets around to reviewing my case. I guess you go before a judge on the third time - my attorney filed my appeal on 12/23 so he said don't be surprised if it's Christmas before we hear from SS. They must really be behind. I am praying I can get approved, as this would drastically help our financial situation.

It's advisable to apply for Social Security benefits 3 months before you want benefits to begin. If you meet all requirements for entitlement, you can receive benefits beginning with the first full month you are age 62. Naturally, if benefits begin before age 65, they are reduced to account for the longer period over which they will be paid. When you apply, you will need the following: your Social Security number; your birth certificate; your W-2 forms or self-employment tax return for last year; your military discharge papers if you had military service; your spouse's birth certificate and Social Security number if he or she is applying for benefits; children's birth certificates and Social Security numbers, if applying for children's benefits; proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful alien status if you (or a spouse or child is applying for benefits) were not born in the U.S.; and the name of your bank and your account number so your benefits can be directly deposited into your account. You will need to submit original documents or copies certified by the issuing office - you can't just go to the UPS store and make your own copies. Maybe during your recouperation period you could pay your local SS office a visit. It can be a bear sitting and waiting to speak to someone, but worth getting good information directly from the source. Quite a bit of info on the internet, too. But as for time frame, you probably ought to start the ball rolling now for a February or March start date. Good luck to you. I'm getting close to having to start thinking about when to begin taking SS myself. I'll be 62 in the not so distant future and it's a difficult decision to make. Even if there was no pressing need to start taking SS, I'm beginning to think it wise to take it at first opportunity. Get into the system before the Govt. does something foolish with one of the few things that actually works!

Your SS benefits are not based on the last year you worked. It looks at your highest paid 35 years over your entire working career. It goes something like this: The calculation will be made over 35 years which is 420 months. First, your record is searched for 35 highest paid years. If you do have that many, then there will be some years counted as zero years. Next, the older years are indexed to sort of bring them up to todays dollars. The factors used is something like a cost-of-living adjustment, but in my humble opinion, the adjustment falls short of the actual inflation rate. However, the same index is applied to everybody be they rich or poor. For example, if you earned $100 30 years ago, the adjustment factor might be 4.5, so your $100 income made 30 years ago would be adjusted to 4.5 x 100 or $450 in current dollars. This is done for each year using a different factor for each year. If there are zero years, these are included also. The 35 highest paid years are used or all the years if there is less than 35. All of the adjusted years are totaled and then divided by 420, the number of months in 35 years. This becomes the average monthly income figure that is used to determine your benefit. Clear as mud? I hope it is a little better than that. Go to the social security site to find this information. The indexing list should be there and it may change some for each passing year. The formula for using the average indexed monthly taxed earnings for computing the benefit should be there.