Do People Get the Information They Need When They Claim Social Security? Evidence from Observations of the Social Security Administration Claims Process

Abstract

Many individuals claim Social Security retirement benefits as soon as they are eligible for them, even though these individuals would receive higher benefits if they delayed. This study examines (1) the extent to which people understand Social Security rules affecting their retirement benefits, and (2) what information the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides to individuals to enable them to make informed claiming decisions. The authors observed 30 in-person claims at SSA field offices and found that claimants were not consistently provided the information needed to make well-informed decisions. For example, in 8 of 26 claims interviews in which the claimant could have received higher benefits by delaying a claim, the claims specialist did not discuss the advantages and disadvantages of delay. Further, only 7 of the 18 claimants for whom the retirement earnings test could potentially apply were given complete information about how the test worked. The problems the authors observed during the claims interviews occurred in part because the questions included in the claims process did not cover some key information.