If you have a robust nest egg, you may be just fine filing for Social Security as soon as you’re eligible for benefits. But if you’re not super confident in your savings balance and you have the option to keep working, then you may want to hold off on signing up.
2. You can tap your retirement savings without penalty
Any money you have socked away in an IRA or 401(k) plan is yours to access penalty-free beginning at age 59 1/2. And so if you’re turning 62 this year, you can take withdrawals from your savings without restriction.
That said, you’ll need the money in your IRA or 401(k) to last for your entire retirement. And so if you’re still working, or if you have other income sources available to you, it could pay to avoid tapping your savings a bit longer.
Say you have a $500,000 nest egg that’s currently earning an average annual 5% return (that’s a bit of a conservative return, but an appropriate one for a near-retiree). If you were to leave your savings untouched for even two more years, you’d grow your balance to $551,000. That’s actually a pretty substantial difference.
