The financial feasibility of delaying Social Security: evidence from administrative tax data

Gopi Goda, Shanthi Ramnath, John B. Shoven and Sita Slavov

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, 2018, vol. 17, issue 4, 419-436

Abstract: Despite the large and growing returns to deferring Social Security benefits, most individuals claim Social Security before the full retirement age. In this paper, we use a panel of administrative tax data on individuals likely to financially benefit from delaying Social Security claiming to explore the relationship between Social Security claiming and distributions from tax-advantaged retirement savings accounts. We find that the majority of our sample claim Social Security prior to taking distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). We also find that a third of our sample have IRA balances equivalent to at least two additional years of Social Security benefits, and a quarter have IRA balances equivalent to at least 4 years of Social Security benefits. We complement our analysis with data from the Health and Retirement Study and find that these percentages are considerably higher when other financial assets are taken into account.

Date: 2018
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Working Paper: The Financial Feasibility of Delaying Social Security: Evidence from Administrative Tax Data (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cup:jpenef:v:17:y:2018:i:04:p:419-436_00

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