Dramatically More Americans Plan To Delay Social Security Retirement Benefits

According to May, 2017 survey, only 28 percent of 61-year-old respondents said they would receive Social Security retirement benefits as soon as possible (age 62).

This is a big decline from 2008, when 45 percent of 61-year-olds said they would file as soon as possible.

There are probably two reasons for this.

One, in 2008, many seniors could not find worthwhile employment, so getting Social Security was perhaps the only option.

Second, since 2008, interest rates (returns on bond investments) have dropped dramatically, while the increase in Social Security payments gained from delay benefit initiation has stayed constant. In other words, delaying pays much better than receiving and investing benefits.