Why Claiming Social Security Early Could Be More Popular Than Ever This Decade

Just two days ago on Jan. 1, Social Security marked its 80th anniversary of making payouts to retired workers. Today, it's a program responsible for divvying out more than 64 million benefit checks each month, many of which wind up in the hands of seniors.

Just how important is Social Security to these retirees? According to data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), some 62% of retired workers receive at least half of their income from the program. Furthermore, over 15 million retired workers are being pulled out of poverty each month because of their payouts, based on an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Suffice it to say that deciding when to begin taking your Social Security payout can have a big impact on your financial well-being later in life.

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Source Fool.com