Locator: 49643SOCIALSECURITY.
This is interesting investment advice, from Jason Zweig, over at The Wall Street Journal.
The article is great as a stand-alone article, but in addition, it dovetails nicely with my thoughts regarding Warren Buffett / BRK, which I mentioned some some weeks ago. Link here to I'm a believer, November 30, 2025.
Everything Jason Zweig mentions with regard to social security holds true, but even more so, when asking the same question about Berkshire Hathaway. Not to be taken out of context, but for all intents and purposes, BRK is about as safe as social security, but in addition, BRK has much greater potential for growth / appreciation.
Graph:
The question:
Beginning in the summer of 2021 and ending about one year later, late spring, 2022, the number of folks taking social security early. What was going on in that period (2021 - 2022) that led to folks taking their social security early?
Why:
The "Jason Zweig article" linked above is meant for folks who are financially able to delay their Social Security benefits. I'll never forget my mom. She was upset with the advice she was given when she took her Social Security benefits early. Her family genetics suggested she would live well into her 80s; she was in excellent health at age 62 (or whenever it was) when she started taking Social Security benefits early. She died at the age of 95.
Taking Social Security at 62 means significantly lower monthly checks ( around $1,377-$1,400 on average) compared to waiting until 70 (around $2,188-$2,263), a difference of roughly $800-$900 monthly, because delaying until age 70 locks in the largest possible benefit, with increases of about 8% annually after Full Retirement Age (FRA) until 70.
Age 70 to 95 --> 25 years of earning almost $1,000 more per month = 25 *12 *1000 = $300,000. It's actually more because of the increase of COLA each year. And $300,00 may sound like a lot of money, but for the beneficiary, an extra $1,000 / month is really noticeable. And, there's even more. If one has learned to live without any social security benefit from age 62 to age 70, imagine what $2,500 to $3,500 / per month will feel like when that mailbox money actually starts to arrive.
By the way, not one person in ten is going to take their "early benefits" and invest that money in the stock market, month after month, and not missing one month, and, oh by the way, picking the right investment.
One could extend this argument to earlier comments regarding BRK / Warren Buffett.
