Maurer, Raimond. <br/><br/>
Optimal Social Security Claiming Behavior under Lump Sum Incentives:  Theory and Evidence / 
Raimond Maurer, Olivia S. Mitchell, Ralph Rogalla, Tatjana Schimetschek. 
 - Cambridge, Mass.  National Bureau of Economic Research  2017. 
 - 1 online resource:  illustrations (black and white); 
 - NBER working paper series  no. w23073 .
 - Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research)  no. w23073. .
<br/><br/> January 2017. 
<br/><br/> People who delay claiming Social Security receive higher lifelong benefits upon retirement. We survey individuals on their willingness to delay claiming later, if they could receive a lump sum in lieu of a higher annuity payment. Using a moment-matching approach, we calibrate a lifecycle model tracking observed claiming patterns under current rules and predict optimal claiming outcomes under the lump sum approach. Our model correctly predicts that early claimers under current rules would delay claiming most when offered actuarially fair lump sums, and for lump sums worth 87% as much, claiming ages would still be higher than at present. 
<br/><br/>
<br/><br/><br/>System requirements: Adobe [Acrobat] Reader required for PDF files. <br/>Mode of access: World Wide Web.