Bipartisan Group Advocates for Language to Encourage Deferred Filing - cnbc.com
In a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA), a group of U.S. Senators is recommending several terminology changes aimed at promoting the advantages of waiting to claim retirement benefits. Specifically, the group is advocating for more descriptive labeling for early, full, and delayed retirement filing plateaus to essentially encourage new claimants to be fully aware of the long-term impact on their ultimate benefit.
The group, which includes Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; Chris Coons, D-Del.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Tim Kaine, D-Va.; is calling for the following re-labeling of these basic terms:
- From “early eligibility age” to “minimum benefit age”
- From “full retirement age” to “standard benefit age”
- From “Age 70″ to “maximum benefit age”
In addition to the recommended labeling changes, the Senators’ letter to SSA calls for regular issuance of a Social Security statement to every working individual with a Social Security number, even if they’ve established a “my Social Security account” (although opt-out provisions would be offered).
As rationale for their recommendations, the Senators cited that over a third of all new filers elect to file at age 62, a move that could result in “an average lifetime loss of $111,000 per household,” since early filing results in a permanent reduction of monthly benefits. CNBC’s Lorie Konish provides more detail on this issue n a post on cnbc.com, which you can access here…