After Age 62 Is It Worth Waiting

In a November 25 article in the Wall Street Journal^[1] Conor Dougherty writes about how Kate Bagoy holds off on a haircut so she can buy a new car and how Massimo Liguori and his wife eat dinner out twice a month instead of at least once a weekend.  But yet he buys a $49,000 Lexus sport-utility vehicle.  What causes Massimo to do that “A car is different because I put my family in that “, he said.  So is it worth going beyond age 62 to start your Social Security benefits?  It can be, particularly when a husband and wife are involved.  If the surviving spouse is the low income earner it can increase the survivor’s income by up to 8% per year for each additional year the social security start-date is delayed prior to age 70.
 ^[1] The Wall Street Journal, Friday November 25, 2011 page A4 “Holding Off on a Haircut To Buy a New Car”