Carefully weigh Social Security options

Forget for a moment the ongoing debate about the future of the Social Security program.

The question I hear more often from baby boomers is, "When can I retire and start drawing on my Social Security benefits?"

And that's the question I'm addressing today, with the help of Roger Smedley and Sharla Jessop of Salt Lake-based Smedley Financial Services.

Roger and Sharla say they get this question all of the time from their clients, and the answer is different for everyone. However, they have a few general suggestions.

Sharla says many people want to start drawing on their Social Security benefits right away when they stop working. But for single women, that is not a good idea.

"They're going to want to wait as long as possible," Sharla says. "They have a longer life expectancy, actuarially, so their benefits need to last for a longer period of time. If they can wait and take (Social Security) later, they will have more benefits for the long run."

The thinking is different for married couples, Roger says. For example, consider a married man and woman of similar ages, with the man having earned more money during his working life.

Sharla says the wife in this scenario has three options. If she has worked outside the home, she can take Social Security benefits based on her own earnings. Whether or not she has been in the work force, if her husband has worked, she can take benefits based on his earnings once she reaches retirement age. And if her spouse dies, she can drop her own benefit and take her spouse's higher benefit.

Regardless of which option she chooses, the married woman is probably better off taking her Social Security benefits right away, Roger says.

As for the married man, Roger says, he is better off delaying any withdrawal of his Social Security funds for as long as possible, maybe even until age 69. But a single man probably should start taking his benefits as soon as he leaves the work force.

"He will have a lower life expectancy," Sharla says. "He'll want to start taking his benefits sooner, where a single woman will want to put it off as long as possible."

By continuing to work past the regular retirement age, a man or woman can delay taking Social Security. That means the benefits will be higher when withdrawals begin.