We carefully adjusted our living expenses so that we could be satisfied with less income compared to our working years. It also helped that we had some control over the hours we worked and that our work involved helping people. Both of these conditions helped us enjoy our semi-retirement more.

Specifically, you lose 5/9 of 1% of your PIA per month for up to 36 months when claiming early, then 5/12 of 1% for every month thereafter. That means signing up for Social Security at 62 can reduce your checks by up to 30%.

One of the most discussed subjects in retirement planning is Social Security benefits and the age at which one should start receiving them. While you can elect to take them as early as 62, most financial planning experts suggest that it’s more advantageous -- assuming you’re in good health and don’t need them to live on -- to wait for your full retirement age of 67 (all those born in 1960 or later) or even to 70.