i am by no means unsympathetic to your friends but this sounds like they would have been in worse financial shape if they had delayed taking ss. if the maximum 30-35% social security benefit reduction has that great an impact on their budget where would they have been absent the 65-70% full benefit they DO receive? for just the sake of numbers i'll use the example from social security's website for someone with a spouse, who have the max reduction applied (numbers are from ss website/not reflecting average person's generally higher benefit)-I will say that we have several friends that took SS at 62 and now are over 65 and completely regretting it. Two of our friends have had to go back to work at 68 full time to make ends meet. Another friend is having to go back to work to cover the cost of his wife meds and cover the cost of the supplemental.
full retirement benefit-$1000/spouse $500 so.....................................$1500 per month
age 62 reduction factor-$700/spouse $325 so....................................$1025 per month
o.k.- so the net difference is $475 per month, nothing to sneeze at BUT-could they have gotten by absent that $1025 per month they DO receive? if $475 per month is the make it/break it then the answer seems to be 'no' so i don't see it as the worst decision in their case.
My Dad had to take SS at 62 for medical reasons and he said that it was the worst thing that he had to do, now at 84, him and my mom need that extra money, to cover the cost of medical bills, meds,
with regards to the bolded-
i highly recommend to anyone in these situations (as well as anyone in general with medical/pharmaceutical costs) the following to help reduce or in some cases entirely eliminate those expenses-
-review your (encourage/help older family/friends) medicare plan to see if it's truly the most cost effective. there are such a wide variety with varying costs and what can look like the best choice b/c of coverage ends up costing more in monthly premiums over the course of a year than the maximum out of pocket expenses would be in the worst case scenario,
-look to the medical providers used/likely used in your area and see what financial assistance programs they may provide. many if not most offer these and they generally all use the same financial criteria (u.s. federal poverty guidelines). NOW-no one likes to identify with 'poverty' but if you look at the numbers below i think you will agree that many people qualify despite receiving even FULL unreduced social security , along with savings earnings and even pensions-
(these are the 2022 federal levels for a household of 2)
gross annual income 300% 350% 400%
$18320 $54930 $65085 $73240
at these gross income levels, providers (doctors/specialists/labs/hospitals...) reduce patient bills (including co pays and share of costs) AFTER all insurance payments applied by-
(300%) 100% (so zero cost to patient)
(350%) 75% (25% cost to patient)
(400%) 50% (50% cost to patient).
very simple 1 or 2 page application with few/easy verifications. most providers have this information on their website (put 'financial assistance' in the search field).
-on meds
talk to providers to see if any regular meds can be gotten in a larger scrip that will save you money. for example-my atorvistatin is prescribed in 90 dose scrips which USED to save me 2/3'rds over my 30 day scrips (USED to b/c the lower cost medicare advantage program i'm on no longer charges a copay for MANY preventative meds-another reason to cost compare plans to weigh out the known services you WILL use vs. the 'just in cases' that might be covered under a financial assistance program or by setting aside a portion of the monthly savings from a lower cost plan to have that higher max out of pay at the ready). compare prices at pharmacies-costco is available to anyone for meds/no membership required and they will accept the good rx and other discount programs. amazon rx supposedly offers good discounts for those with prime memberships so it's worthwhile to see what prices run with them.
i don't mean to come across as 'preachy' on these topics, it's just that i'm retired from administering financial and supportive services programs to the public, a decent chunk of which are related to medical services, and it taught me about the many programs that could help SO MANY are not well known.