Most Americans are claiming Social Security too soon, according to a new
Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
Specifically, the GAO estimates fewer than one in 10 retirees delay claiming Social Security long enough to maximize their benefits.
The most common age Americans claim Social Security is 62, but at that age their benefit would be 25 percent lower than if they waited until their full retirement age.
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While middle- and lower-income workers would often benefit the most from waiting to claim, many in that demographic are unable to wait because they have relatively little in savings.
The full retirement age to maximize Social Security is 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954.
Some of the other reasons so few people wait until their full retirement age to claim include health problems or family history of short lifespans, unemployment and being a widow or widower.
In addition, the profession a worker is in can also have a bearing on when they file for Social Security early, the GAO reported.
Those who held a blue-collar job were 55 percent more likely to claim early. For example, of construction workers, 49 percent claimed early, while 54 percent of farmers claimed early. In comparison, only 26 of those in managerial positions and 22 percent of those in professional occupations claimed early.
According to
PBS Newshour contributor Larry Kotlikoff, the Social Security Administration (SSA) deliberately lowballs the estimates in its online calculations for what Americans can expect to receive from Social Security. They do that by assuming the economy will experience zero real wage growth and zero inflation in the future.
The reason for the low estimates is "so people will save more on their own and they won't be so hurt if the system's benefits are cut in the future, which seems likely," Kotlikoff said.
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