We're 65 With $1.3 Million Saved and Expect $6,000 a Month in Retirement Income. Why Doesn't It Feel Settled?

The math behind Social Security is well known. Benefits can be claimed as early as 62, but doing so permanently reduces monthly payments. Waiting until full retirement age increases the benefit, and delaying further raises it again until age 70. Over a long retirement, delaying can produce meaningfully higher lifetime income.That tradeoff is difficult to price intuitively. It is also one of the most consequential decisions retirees face, because it changes the structure of income, withdrawals, and risk at t ...