KNOWARE  

Software for Education and Industry

Social Security - Take it Now or Later? 

Ver. 1.0

Trying to decide whether to start your Social Security benefits at age 62 and take the lower amount, or wait until your Full Retirement Age and get the full amount?  Social Security - Take it Now or Later is a computer program to help you decide when to start taking Social Security.  Compare starting your Social Security at any two ages to see how long you would have to live to justify waiting to start your benefits. 

Did you know that Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn over $14,160 if you haven't reached your Full Retirement Age?  Did you know that Social Security usually increases your payments based on inflation (Cost of Living Allowance, COLA).  Did you know that banking your payments and earning interest on them could greatly affect when you should start Social Security?

Social Security - Take it Now or Later allows you to play "what if" with all of these factors so you can decide when to start taking Social Security, how outside earnings may affect your decision, how interest earned on the benefits may affect your decision, whether to wait until your Full Retirement Age, or whether to wait until some other time later.

Social Security - Take it Now or Later includes the following features:

• Allows you to enter your benefits at any two ages and see graphically how fast they accumulate

• Shows the 'break even' point when the larger payments (started later) accumulate to more than the smaller payments (started earlier).

• Takes into account any outside money you earn while getting Social Security

• Takes into account your Full Retirement Age

• Includes the Cost of Living Allowance based on the rate of inflation

• Includes any interest you may earn on your Social Security payments

• Takes into account your tax bracket since you have to pay taxes on any interest you earn, but not on Social Security.

Social Security - Take it Now or Later showing where you enter data for the two ages you want to compare. 

Social Security - Take it Now or Later showing the tabular results of starting benefits at two different ages.

Social Security - Take it Now or Later showing the graphical results of starting benefits at two different ages.

Hardware/Software Requirements:

• IBM^® 486 or higher compatible computer
• Windows^® 95 or greater operating system, including XP and Vista.  If Windows NT 4.0^®, Service Pack 3 or greater must be installed.
  
• Minimum of 8 megabyte of RAM memory.
• Minimum of 1 megabyte of available hard disk space.
• 800 x 600 or higher screen video capability.
• Graphics-capable printer.
• CD-ROM drive.