The Smartest Thing My Mom's Doing With Her Social Security Check
If you've read any financial news outlet for long enough, you likely know that America is in the middle of a retirement crisis. However, the crisis isn't affecting everyone: While many seniors are understandably struggling due to an inability to save or a forced early retirement spurred by health reasons, this is simply not the experience of others.
In 2016, a Merrill Lynch study found that 75% of adults aged 65 and above reported often feeling happy -- the highest of any cohort -- and having the lowest rates of anxiety. Last year a U.S. Census Department study found that the poverty rate among adults aged 65 were lower than that of adults aged 18 to 64, and nearly 40% lower than that of Americans under 18.
And while Social Security is a key reason for lower poverty rates among seniors, with some estimates noting it led to a 31.7-percentage-point reduction in poverty in elderly populations, another study found that most seniors were able to maintain or increase their spendable income after claiming Social Security. For many seniors, the Golden Years are truly golden!
Source Fool.com
