Retirement Starts Today Delay to 70? Not So Fast - The New Case for Claiming Early
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Oct 6, 2025 Only 4% of retirees wait until 70 to claim Social Security, raising questions about the common delay advice. Derek Tharp’s research challenges traditional assumptions, emphasizing the risks of mortality and sequence-of-returns. The discussion highlights a need for a comprehensive financial strategy that incorporates various income sources. Additionally, the pros and cons of single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) are explored, with insights on when they might be suitable. Overall, it's a call for personalized retirement planning over one-size-fits-all advice.
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Don’t Preemptively Claim To Avoid Cuts
- If you fear benefit cuts, grow your Social Security benefit first and accept cuts on a larger base rather than claiming early and locking in a smaller benefit.
- Delay benefits to maximize baseline unless you have a specific reason to claim early.
Health-Span Affects Claiming Value
- Health-span means money spent on experiences earlier may be more valuable than saving benefits for extreme old age.
- Using portfolio funds to fund near-term experiences can be preferable to delaying Social Security.
Solve For Spending Confidence
- Solve for spending confidence; don’t let fear enforce an overly conservative withdrawal pattern.
- Advisors should help clients spend more confidently rather than defaulting to extremely low withdrawal rates.
