Wondering when to take Social Security

DEAR HARRY: I will be 62 in 2016, and my wife will be 62 in 2018. I make about $110,000 a year (and have for years), and my wife makes about $5,000 working part time. We are faced with the problem of taking Social Security at the earliest possible age or waiting to retire at 70.

My health is pretty good, and my family has a good health history. My parents both died at 74, and an older brother died at 76. My work is not physically challenging.

If I retire early, my pension and SS will be enough to carry us over pretty well. My wife's SS will be icing on the cake. She also has a small IRA. Would you advise waiting to apply for my SS?

WHAT HARRY SAYS: If you retire at 62, your SS will be about $1,600 a month. Make that $3,000 a month if you retire at 70. Let's see where that leaves you.

In the eight years in-between, you'll get a total of $153,600 (96 months times $1,600). You will be getting an extra $1,400 if you wait until you're 70. It will take you almost 110 months to get even. That's a little more than nine years, when you'll be 79.

Will you live and be healthy for that long? (Can you work at your present income level?) Have you thought of a kind of compromise situation by retiring at 66? That would give you an extra $600 a month and will take you to age 69 to get even. When you're 66, you can decide to wait further based on your situation at that time.