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I am incensed when I read nonsense posted on social media about social security – “Congress stole the SS funds and never paid it back,” “there would be plenty of money if we didn’t give it to people not eligible” and worse. All nonsense.
Is it worth me getting upset over? It is, because uninformed people believe it and now it appears people are acting on the lies and misinformation they read and hear. They don’t understand that SS can’t go bankrupt or run out of money and that there is a different between SS’s ongoing revenue and the reserve trust. The trust can be depleted, but tax and other revenue would continue to pay (reduced) benefits.
It makes no sense to claim benefits at 62 because you fear SS won’t be there. In fact, if a person believes benefits will be reduced, they should delay to claim a larger benefits.
A Northwestern Mutual study found about 25% of Generation X and 40% of Baby Boomers who aren’t yet eligible said they intend to claim as soon as they turn 62, with fewer than half of Gen X planning to wait until full retirement age.
The Urban Institute (via SSA filing data) found that from January–July 2025, more than 2.3 million people filed for Social Security retirement benefits, up 16 percent from the same period in 2024. Separately, Empower reported the SSA was on track to receive nearly four million retirement-benefit claims for fiscal year 2025 — up 15% from 2024, and about five times the average 3% annual increase seen over the prior 12 years.
An AARP poll points to fears that Social Security is “running out of money” as a driver of the spike starting benefits at age 62 – a poor reason to claim early, since benefits are higher the longer you wait.
Another form of financial illiteracy at its worse.
I plan on using the years after retirement to do Roth conversions. Once that’s done we may claim my wife’s SS at age 67 and mine at 70, or just wait until we both hit 70. We’ll see what makes sense as we get closer.
All true, Dick. I think also at play here is one’s desire to get their hands on that SS money ASAP, and all of those things that you mention gives them justification to do that.
So my advice to those not yet collecting SS is to approach the decision making process with an open mind. Don’t manipulate the research to confirm your desire. The best claiming strategy may not be the one that you want it to be.