Just 11% of Near-Retirees Plan to Delay Social Security Benefits Until 70

What You Need to Know

Forty-eight percent of non-retirees surveyed said they planned to apply for benefits between the ages of 62 and 65, before reaching full retirement age.
Almost half of all retirees said they did not have a strategy to generate income but will withdraw money as needed.
Lifetime income is the most popular feature retirement plan participants look for in an in-plan retirement income solution.

Eighty-six percent of non-retired Americans 45 and older know they could receive higher Social Security payments by delaying the start of their benefits until age 70, the age at which individuals reach their maximum monthly benefit, according to the Schroders U.S. retirement survey released Tuesday. Yet, only 11% of respondents said they plan to wait that long.

Among survey participants who said they would take benefits before they reach 70, 32% were concerned that Social Security may run out of money or stop making payments. Thirty-one percent expected to need the money sooner.

Forty-eight percent of non-retirees surveyed said they plan to apply for benefits between the ages of 62 and 65, that is, before reaching full benefit age; 19% plan to file when they are between 66 and 69; and 22% are unsure when they will claim Social Security.

Even among respondents who are not yet retired but are approaching retirement age — those in the 60 to 65 age group — only 11% said they will take their benefits at age 70. Why? Thirty-eight percent said they will need the money sooner.

The survey asked non-retired participants what period of life after age 65 they expect to be the most expensive:

Ages 65 to 74: 49%
Ages 75 to 84: 30%
Ages 85 and above: 21%

Joel Schiffman, head of strategic partnerships at Schroders, noted in a statement that the new findings validate what last year’s retirement survey found, namely, that only 10% of respondents planned to wait until age 70 to take higher benefits.

“Delaying Social Security to increase your benefit is a tried and true means of generating more income in retirement, but it’s a path few are prepared to take,” he said.

8 Acre Perspective conducted the survey in February among 1,000 U.S. investors nationwide ages 45 to 75. The median household income for working Americans surveyed was $75,000. The survey included 317 respondents with employer-provided defined contribution retirement plans.

At Retirement’s Doorstep

Among non-retired survey participants nearing retirement, 55% said they did not think they would be able to replace three-quarters of their last paycheck in retirement income. But then, most did not believe they would need to do so.