The nationwide survey of 2,000 U . S . investors found that nearly three-fourths of non-retired Americans are aware that waiting longer to collect benefits would earn them higher payments . That is , if your full retirement age is 67 and you start your benefits at age 69 , you would receive a credit of 8 % per year , meaning you would receive 16 % more than the amount you would have received at age 67 .

But just one in 10 plan to wait until at least age 70 , the age at which an individual reaches the maximum monthly benefit , the survey said . Non-retired Americans , it found , are most likely to file for benefits at age 65 ( something 23 % of those surveyed said ) and 62 ( the age cited by 12 %), and 43 % plan to collect the benefit before age 67 , the full retirement age for those born in 1960 or later .

The top reason cited by non-retirees for wanting to take benefits before age 70 is that they will need the money ( something noted by 39 % of respondents ). That was closely followed by concerns that Social Security could become depleted and payments will stop ( a concern noted by 38 %).

The top reason cited by non-retirees for wanting to take benefits before age 70 is that they will need the money ( something noted by 39 % of respondents ).

Thirty-six percent indicated that they want access to the money as soon as possible , and 12 % said they were advised to take it earlier than age 70 .

Despite leaving money on the table , most respondents ( 88 % of them ) are somewhat worried about not knowing how to generate income during retirement . Moreover , more than half ( 57 %) said the idea of not receiving a regular paycheck is worrisome while 22 % said it is terrifying . Also noteworthy is that non-retirees believe they need $ 4,947 on average in monthly income to live comfortably , which is higher than the $ 4,258 of monthly income retirees report they are generating , the survey said .

Besides Social Security , 60 % of non-retired Americans said the top income sources they plan to draw upon include cash savings , while 48 % of them said they plan to use workplace 401 ( k ), 403 ( b ) or 457 plans . Thirty-seven percent of them said they plan to use their spouse ’ s workplace 401 ( k ), 403 ( b ) or 457 plans , while 36 % said they would use investment income , and 27 % said they would use a spouse ’ s pension plan .

Nine in 10 respondents , those who participated in a workplace retirement plan , expressed a strong interest in an employer-based retirement investment product that actively manages the risk of loss while seeking to grow assets at a rate equal to the current cash rate — plus 5 %. But such a solution is not widely offered by employers . Thirty-eight percent of plan participants said their plan provided a retirement income solution ( up from 31 % in 2023 ); 36 % said they didn ’ t know if it was offered , and 26 % said it was not offered through their employer .

“ With working Americans increasingly looking to their employers for answers , plan sponsors and assets managers have an opportunity to work together to develop

10 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2024 WWW . FA-MAG . COM