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A6 U.S. NEWS
Saturday 29 June 2019

Study: Retirees lose by taking Social Security at wrong time

found that 92 percent of
retirees would be better off
waiting to claim Social Se-
curity until at least their 65th
birthday. The exact timing
is tough to pinpoint, even
varying within households
depending on age and
who earned more.
That being said, there are
people who are better off
taking the benefits as soon
as they can, such as those
in poor health who have
less time to enjoy their ben-
efits.
For others, waiting for the
ideal time to claim would
mean losing wealth in their
60s as it would require them
to live off savings or invest-
ment account withdrawals
instead of Social Security
benefits.
“This shouldn’t be about
‘claim early’ or ‘claim late’,
it should be a discussion,”
Fichtner said. “If anything,
just claim as late as you fi-
nancially can.”
The researchers analyzed
the information of more
than 2,000 households in a
Social Security Administra-
tion sponsored survey. Us-
ing info respondents pro-
vided about health, lon-
gevity, finances and other
details, they used forecast-
In this Nov. 14, 2018, file photo people walk through lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park at the start of a work day in New York. ing technology to simulate
Associated Press how much their households
By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL Americans typically can son Fichtner, former chief increasing your chances would be worth through-
AP Personal Finance Writer start claiming their Social economist at the Social you’ll be able to afford re- out retirement based on
It’s tough to decide when Security benefits as early as Security Administration and tirement,” said Fichtner. various timing options. The
to start taking Social Secu- age 62 and most adults do one of the report’s authors. The researchers also esti- study did not assume any
rity benefits and it appears so by the time they turn 63. “These discussions aren’t mate that elderly poverty additional job income in
many people are short- But the size of the monthly necessarily happening for could be cut by 50% if all calculating the optimal
ing themselves with their benefit grows for each year everyone.” retirees claimed Social Se- age.
choice. they wait, maxing out at Those conversations are curity at the optimal time. Why don’t people wait to
A new study finds that only age 70. important because Ameri- They suggest policymakers claim later? Teresa Ghilar-
4% of retirees start claiming It’s not just a financial cans are increasingly in make changes to encour- ducci, a professor of eco-
their Social Security ben- equation though. Decid- charge of their own retire- age people to claim at a nomics at the New school
efits at the most financially ing when to draw benefits ment planning and Social more financially advan- and retirement expert, un-
optimal time. And current depends on a myriad of Security is a major compo- tageous age, such as im- affiliated with the study,
retirees collectively will personal factors such as nent. It accounts for about proved education for those says that there are many
lose $3.4 trillion in poten- age, health, other savings, one-third of all income an- eligible for Social Security reasons. That includes per-
tial income to fund their marital status and plans for nually received by U.S. retir- or changing the terminolo- sonal dynamics within a
retirement because they retirement. But the report’s ees. And many Americans gy to indicate that benefits marriage, financial advisers
started drawing benefits authors say people aren’t are underprepared to sup- may increase with time. For who would lose out if you
at a less than ideal time. spending enough time sort- plement their retirement example, researchers sug- draw from investments ear-
That’s roughly $111,000 per ing through this process with their own savings. For gest that instead of calling ly, a desire to boost income
household, according to and policymakers could do about one-third of retirees, 62 the “early eligibility age” as many older Americans
the research from United more to encourage it. Social Security is their pri- it could be labeled the work low wage jobs and
Income, an online invest- “If you have the discus- mary source of income. “minimum benefit age.” difficulty in estimating how
ment management and sions, you can you optimize “It is not just about increas- While there is no one opti- long you have to live.
financial planning firm. your decisions,” said Ja- ing your income, it’s about mal age, the researchers While not a complete solu-
tion for insufficient savings,
the study’s authors say that
optimizing Social Security
would improve the lives of
millions of retirees.q