90 Percent of Americans Won’t Wait Until 70 to Claim Social Security, Study Finds

Some expressed concerns about Social Security’s solvency.

A Social Security card sits alongside checks from the U.S. Treasury in Washington on Oct. 14, 2021. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Nine in 10 Americans said they are not waiting until age 70 to claim their maximum Social Security benefits, according to a Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey released on Oct. 21.

Schroders, an asset management company, said 44 percent of non-retirees plan to file for Social Security benefits before they turn 67, and only 10 percent are waiting until age 70, when individuals can claim their maximum monthly benefit, to retire.

Workers can claim Social Security benefits as soon as they reach 62, although claiming early could lower their monthly benefit payments by 30 percent. Claiming benefits at age 70 allows retirees to claim their highest benefit with delayed retirement credits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) says 67 is the full retirement age for people born in 1960 or later looking to receive 100 percent of their calculated monthly benefit.

“If you start receiving retirement benefits at age 70, you’ll get 124 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 36 months,” according to the SSA website.

Most of the 1,500 respondents in the Schroders survey said they understand the trade-offs of retiring early.

“The income generated from monthly Social Security payments is critical to making ends meet in retirement for many Americans,” Deb Boyden, Head of U.S. Defined Contribution at Schroders, said. “Clearly, reports questioning Social Security’s solvency have workers anxious to tap into their benefits sooner rather than later, but with many Americans facing a large savings gap, holding off on claiming benefits can have a meaningful impact on your finances in retirement.”

People who said they would claim Social Security benefits before the age of 70 indicated multiple reasons why: 37 percent want access to their benefits as soon as possible, 36 percent are concerned the Social Security trust fund will run out of money or no longer make payments, 34 percent need the money earlier for regular income, and 15 percent were advised to take the money earlier.

Reports released earlier this year by the trust funds that manage both Social Security and Medicare said both programs are expected to run out of cash earlier than expected, with Social Security running dry by 2034—one year earlier than last year’s forecasted date of 2035. The Medicare fund is expected to run out by 2033, three years earlier that last year’s estimate, the trustees said.

There had been reports and speculation that Social Security payments wouldn’t be sent during the ongoing government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. A spokesperson for the SSA told The Epoch Times on Monday that payments will go out as planned.

Another survey released on Tuesday from the Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America shows that a majority of Americans do not know much about the Social Security program, including whether they can retire on the payments it provides.

That survey found that 55 percent of Americans “admit they don’t know much about Social Security or how it will fit into their retirement plan” and 39 percent indicated they know how to use Social Security when they retire.

Of those surveyed, 67 percent are concerned Social Security won’t be available throughout their retirement—up 10 percentage points from last year.