By T.J. GILLES

For The Outpost

People born between 1943 and 1954 have had the option of taking early Social Security when they turn 62 and receive a 25 percent cut in benefits instead of waiting another four years for their full benefits.

In 2006, the Journal of Certified Public Accountants reported that more than 70 percent of eligible Americans were taking the early out and throwing in the working person’s towel when they turned 62.

That was in times of near-full employment, before recessions and corporate bailouts.

Asked if even more are opting out early given current economics, Gary Amundson of Montana State University Billings said: “I think that’s right. The number is higher now,” as people may have lost their jobs and are facing meager prospects for future employment at a living wage.

”The key question is, ‘How long will it take to break even?’” Dr. Amundson said in a telephone interview. He ran some quick calculations and came up with hypothetical figures of 10-12 years to break even on the early out.

Each year after they turn around 50, most people receive an annual personalized computer letter from Social Security that gives them figures on what they’re worth to spouses and minor survivors if they were dead or disabled – and how much they’d get if they’d take the early out at 62, which includes anyone born in 1948 or before.

“You’ve got to look closely at those statements and run the calculations” on the Social Security website, said Dr. Amundson, who teaches personal financial management at MSU Billings.

There are further penalties if an early retiree makes more than $14,200 a year, he said. After that amount, for every $2 received, the person’s Social Security check is reduced by $1.

“Some people just say ‘Screw it!’” and opt out at age 62, he said, and let others do the work or work part-time and still draw their benefits.Others are made uneasy by members of Congress who are calling for raising the retirement age to as high as 70, as some European countries already have done in the midst of their governments’ money problems.

The arbitrary age of 65 first was established by Otto Von Bismarck in Germany in the 1870s, and that same socialist retirement age came to the United States during the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency of the 1930s, when U.S. Social Security was established and a vast minority of people actually lived long enough to merit “rocking-chair checks” from the Treasury Department.

“You’ve really got to pencil it out,” said Dr. Amundson. “That’s something everybody has to wrestle with … . A guy’s got to look at insurance, 401-Ks, all that stuff” before making a decision.

“Your payments are based on your best 35 years of earnings,” he said, so there’s another factor to consider, along with retirement somewhere between 62 and 66, which would mean slightly higher monthly checks.

Social Security offers personalized calculators at www.socialsecurity.gov and other sources can be used to calculate life expectancy based on health history and lifestyle matters such as smoking, drinking or exposure to pollution.

Communities of expatriates have developed over the past decade or so in places like Baja California of Mexico, where adobe has been replaced by trailer parks and RV parks, and Costa Rica, where a person who can prove a monthly income of $500 or more can become a permanent resident of a stable country where English is spoken as much as Spanish.