Baby Boomers give up a lot of money by taking benefits early, and a wealthy presidential candidate should be a better role model than that.
Let's forget Benghazi or questions about donations to the Clinton Foundation that GOP presidential candidates and other conservatives are making to try to push Hillary Clinton off the top of the leaderboard in her run for the White House.
I always found those arguments silly coming from candidates, especially ones who have made dumb moves or said stupid stuff themselves that raises big-time questions over their own judgment to be president.
They make it sound like a decree that everyone agrees with them that yep, Hillary Clinton is definitely not qualified to be president. You could make an argument that just about everyone in the field isn't qualified by what we've heard and seen already this year.
But I felt compelled to give my two cents anyway, even though that's about all it's worth. If candidates are going to be raising any issue about Hillary becoming president, it shouldn't be about the Clinton Foundation or her record as Secretary of State.
They should question her judgement if reports are true that Hillary is already accepting her Social Security. I am making this point facetiously if you don't get that.
I'm not savvy enough to weigh in whether it's smart politically to be on Social Security when you're running for president. Some candidates say that may be a disadvantage because it shows you are older than your opponents, and that raises all sorts of questions about health and longevity. Others will make cracks about taking money from the government even though people for the most part are getting out of Social Security what they put into it.
What I'm talking about is that Hillary is going against what a lot of experts and writers like myself have been urging people to do when it comes to Social Security benefits.
Some news reports suggest Hillary, at age 67, is already taking her Social Security.
The reports don't suggest when she started taking it, but it's safe to assume after she reached full retirement age when she returned 66 in October 2013.
A lot of us have preached to people that they should wait until 70 to start taking the benefit when it reaches the maximum amount.
The maximum amount is a whopping 32 percent more than if you started taking the social security benefits at age 62. Don't tell me Hillary started taking it at age 62. (Sadly, she wouldn't be alone. In a story I wrote asking if the increase in retirement age from 65 has affected when people cash in, we learned that three quarters of people still take social security at 62, losing out on a big chunk of money.)
Here are the numbers explained to me by Social Security expert Andy Landis, a former Social Security employee who's written guides on how the benefit works.
The maximum amount someone could earn today if they take the benefit at their full retirement age of 66 is $2,663 a month, Landis says.
If someone waits until they reach 70, that's $3,515 a month. That's $852 more a month and $10,224 more a year.
That's a lot of money to give up if you're in good health and stand a good chance to live well into your 80s and even your 90s. (If you just cashed out and have changed your mind, social security has new rules about paying the money back in order to wait until you're 70.)
For those who feel compelled to take their Social Security at 62 even though they could otherwise afford to wait and work longer, they're leaving even more on the table.
The maximum benefit of $3,515 at age 70 is only $2,130 at age 62. That's nearly $1,400 a month difference.
We all know it's not going to make a difference in Hillary's life whether she took the benefit at any of those age points, given her income and status in life and that's she's the frontrunner to be the next president. She's also already got that pension thing going by serving in the Senate.
Everyone's needs in life are different, and for those extremely wealthy, tens of thousands of extra dollars and even six figures in lifetime income benefits isn't a lot, but for those who don't have a lot of money to rely on, especially if they live well into their 90s or longer, that's a difference-maker.
Hillary should be a better role model for those in a lower income bracket, so I really hope that it's revealed that she has not touched her social security and won't until she's 70.
Because for most of us, it's best to wait until 70.