Study: Retirees lose by taking Social Security at wrong time
It's tough to decide when to start taking
A new study finds that only 4% of retirees start claiming their
Americans typically can start claiming their
It's not just a financial equation though. Deciding when to draw benefits depends on a myriad of personal factors such as age, health, other savings, marital status and plans for retirement. But the report's authors say people aren't spending enough time sorting through this process and policymakers could do more to encourage it.
"If you have the discussions, you can you optimize your decisions," said
Those conversations are important because Americans are increasingly in charge of their own retirement planning and
"It is not just about increasing your income, it's about increasing your chances you'll be able to afford retirement," said Fichtner.
The researchers also estimate that elderly poverty could be cut by 50% if all retirees claimed
While there is no one optimal age, the researchers found that 92 percent of retirees would be better off waiting to claim
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 benefits.
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 investment account withdrawals instead of
"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 financially can."
The researchers analyzed the information of more than 2,000 households in a
Why don't people wait to claim later?
While not a complete solution for insufficient savings, the study's authors say that optimizing
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