The COVID-19 Stock Market Crash Makes a Good Case for Delaying Social Security
Seniors who are eligible for Social Security benefits can begin collecting them at age 62, and not shocking, that's the most popular age to sign up. But to snag your full monthly benefit based on your earnings history, you need to wait until full retirement age, or FRA, to sign up. FRA is either 66, 67, or 66 and a certain number of months, depending on the year you were born. There's also the option to delay benefits past FRA and score an 8% boost for each year that happens, up until age 70. But surprisingly, less than 4% of seniors take advantage of that opportunity.
The COVID-19 crisis might change that, though. Here's why.
Right now, countless seniors are watching their retirement portfolios plummet in value as COVID-19 batters the U.S. economy and wreaks havoc on the stock market. But while younger folks may be well-positioned to wait out a downturn by leaving their savings alone, retirees who are already in the process of taking retirement plan withdrawals may not have that same option. As such, some stand to take serious losses if the need to access money from their 401(k)s or IRAs arises in the very near future.
Source Fool.com
