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When Should Married Men Claim Social Security Benefits?

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Author Info
Steven A. Sass
Wei Sun
Anthony Webb
Abstract

Most married men claim Social Security benefits at age 62 or 63, well short of the age that maximizes the expected present value of the average household’s benefits. That many married men “leave money on the table” is surprising. It is also problematic. It results in much lower benefits for surviving spouses and the low incomes of elderly widows are a major social problem. If married men delayed claiming Social Security benefits, retirement income security would significantly improve. This brief focuses on the potential gains from delayed claiming and the factors that may influence claiming behavior. It then considers possible policy responses.

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File URL: http://crr.bc.edu/images/stories/Briefs/ib_8-4.pdf
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Paper provided by Center for Retirement Research in its series Issues in Brief with number ib2008-8-4.

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Length: 8 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2008
Date of revision: Mar 2008
Handle: RePEc:crr:issbrf:ib2008-8-4

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  1. Michael D. Hurd & James P. Smith & Julie M. Zissimopoulos, 2004. "The effects of subjective survival on retirement and Social Security claiming," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(6), pages 761-775. [Downloadable!]
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  2. John T. Warner & Saul Pleeter, 2001. "The Personal Discount Rate: Evidence from Military Downsizing Programs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 33-53, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Courtney Coile & Peter Diamond & Jonathan Gruber & Alain Jousten, 1999. "Delays in Claiming Social Security Benefits," NBER Working Papers 7318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Alicia H. Munnell & Mauricio Soto, 2005. "Why Do Women Claim Social Security Benefits So Early?," Issues in Brief ib2005-35, Center for Retirement Research, revised Oct 2005. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-14.

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