Letter of the Day: Retiring at 62

Retiring at 62

EDITOR: If you're 62 and are laid off, can't find a job, can't work or don't want to work anymore, and, hopefully, have some savings, you should consider taking Social Security early. Just do the math and keep in mind that you can still earn up to $14,640 annually without losing any of your monthly Social Security benefits.

With reference to the Sunday article "Economy pushes some to retire early," taking Social Security at 62 in the amount of $1,000 a month (for example) would give you an annual income of $12,000. If you wait until full retirement age, 66, you'll already have lost $48,000 of income ($12,000 annually over four years).

If you'd get an average of 25 percent more per month ($250) by waiting until you're 66, it will take another 16 years just to break even. By that time, you're 82 years old with only three years left to live (according to the statistic in the article). And, if you're a single person and you die at 85, the buck stops there. It's definitely something to think about.

TRICIA HOFFMAN

Sebastopol