Schroders surveyed pre- and post-retirees 45 and older and found that only 10% planned to wait until 70 to claim benefits.
Wait Till 70 for Social Security? No Way, Say Most Americans: Survey — https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2021/06/24/wait-till-70-for-social-security-no-way-say-most-americans-survey/
It is painfully obvious to me that the majority of Americans are claiming benefits at both early and full retirement ages because they need the money and can’t afford to wait until age 70. Only healthy elders on financially sound footings will be deferring social security payments until their later years.
Yikes!
I took it at age 62. I didn’t know if I would live to age 70.
I’ll be 67 this year and don’t know if I’ll live to 70 but am deferring SS anyway. I’m playing Beat the Actuaries.
I did live to be 70. But I’m still glad I took the Social Security at age 62. I invested 100% of what I’ve been paid, so hopefully the growth over the past eight years will have put a dent in the overall loss for having a lower payments. There’s probably a way to calculate this, but it’s above my pay grade.
In theory when the system was designed it should not matter if you retired early or later as the total benefits paid would be the same based on actuarial science. But then I found this:
“A study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that the delayed credit is still about right, with the exception of the highest earners, who tend to outlive actuarial averages and reap the highest extra benefit.”
https://www.morningstar.com/articles/1029357/its-time-to-revisit-social-securitys-early-and-delayed-claiming-formulas
Interesting. no?
I don’t know what that means. Is it better for high earners to take Social Security early or late?
Based on averages using large number it doesn’t matter. But if you are a high earner and in good health the Boston College study showed that it pays to claim SS benefits later.