WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Many investment advisers tell future retirees to delay taking Social Security benefits as long as possible, so they can beef up their savings and their benefits, but that’s not always good advice.Some others, like Hermitage, Pennsylvania, adviser Robert Jazwinski, dive into the numbers and come to the opposite conclusion.

“I believe that an individual should generally take Social Security benefits as soon as he or she in entitled to take them,” said Jazwinski, a certified public accountant, after analyzing some case studies.

A similar conclusion was reached by John J. Spitzer, an economics professor at the State University of New York at Brockport. He found that anyone whose savings were at least 25 percent in stocks when they started benefits, and/or who earned a 4 percent real rate of return on their savings, would be better off taking the money early.

“Delay is generally not advisable,” Spitzer wrote in a recent study.

A lot of math has to go into the decision on when to start benefits, so the best way for most pre-retirees to make the right decision for them is to do the math — even if that means hiring someone to do it for you.

An accountant or other spreadsheet-comfortable adviser can give more specific answers about when to take benefits than can most investment-focused professionals.

Here’s why: Full Social Security benefits start at “full retirement age” — a sliding number that is now 65 and 8 months and is heading up. Workers can retire and start to take their benefits as soon as they turn 62, but those benefits are reduced for every month before full retirement age that a worker starts taking them. Conversely, monthly benefits are raised for every month past normal retirement age that a worker decides to wait before beginning those benefits.

Figuring out how to optimise those benefits has a lot to do with how much other money you have, how it’s invested, your life expectancy, what you think the government will do, and more. So get the math done, but don’t just count on that. Here are some other considerations:

[bul] Figure out if you can afford to retire. More math. If it turns out you have enough money in the bank and brokerage to pay for your retirement, you can make your decision based on the math. If you don’t have enough money to start at 62, the subject is moot. Don’t start yet.

[bul] Ask yourself if you like your job and want to continue working. If you’re between the ages of 62 and your normal retirement age, you’ll give back 50 cents on every dollar you make over $12,480 this year. If you’re still earning a full salary and enjoying it, keep the job and defer the benefits. That’s Jazwinski’s advice: He tempered his “take it early” recommendation with the proviso that beneficiaries not make enough to trigger the earnings penalty.

[bul] Think about your breakpoint. If you compare (a) the accumulated value of your expected benefits starting at 62, with (b) the accumulated value of your benefits starting at full retirement age, your breakpoint is the age at which (b) surpasses (a). Don’t take the Social Security Administration’s word for it: The calculator on its Web site puts breakpoints on the early side; mostly in the mid-70s. It’s more likely breakpoints will be in the mid to late 80s, say both Jazwinski and Spitzer. That’s because the Social Security Administration calculator adds the benefits but does not weigh the fact that earlier benefits are worth more than later benefits, because even modest inflation erodes the value of money over time.

Try to handicap how likely you are to live past your breakpoint. If you expect good genes and good healthcare to take you into your 90s and beyond, you may want to defer benefits.

[bul] Think about quality of life. If you want to spend some young, healthy time retired, take the benefits earlier. If you’re feeling short of cash, you can rejig your investments and try to earn a bit more money once you turn 65 and the earnings limit comes off. If, on the other hand, you’re facing a retirement that will be financially on the edge, realise that a few more years of work and savings, coupled with bigger benefits, could make your entire retirement experience more comfortable.

[bul] Think about Congress. Will Washington leave Social Security untouched until you get there? If you have faith in that, you might want to hold off on taking those benefits. If you don’t, take the cash as soon as possible. Anything can happen, but it’s highly, highly, unlikely that Washington will ask for refunds of the benefits it has already distributed.(Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern(at)aol.com.)