I see that most Fools recommend taking the money now. I agree completely.

Several years ago a good friend, who is also a very astute financial analyst reached age 62 and faced the same issue. (He had already been retired for a number of years.) His analysis was quite simple.

If you start Social Security at age 62 instead of age 65 you are ahead of the game until your late 70's. That's at zero percent return on investment. If you assume the money is invested at some modest rate of return, then the breakeven point is even further in the future.

No need for a spreadsheet or any fancy analysis -- you are better off taking it as soon as possible, even with a reduced payment. The only caveat is if you continue to work and the added income affects your Social Security payments and taxes. Then you should do a more thorough analysis (though I suspect the results will be the same).

Fool on