let's call it retirement eligible
for social security purposes, i became retirement eligible (62) in august. (for purposes of full disclosure, i have been retired from my employer for 11 plus years)
and many, like me, chose to defer immediate social security retirement upon eligibility because it will enhance our earnings later. we put pencil to paper and realized it is smarter financially - long term - to defer retirement
however, at the height of the notso great recession, a number of my friends and acquaintances, having lost their jobs, or working reduced hours, and having few prospects at finding replacement employment equivalent to that they were forced to relinquish, chose to begin receiving social security benefits as soon as they became eligible. they preferred to defer that choice to realize greater total benefits. but the economy did not cooperate. they accepted the lesser, but immediate, benefit only because they needed the income. then
as the economy has begun improving, that more retirement eligibles are deferring to a later date to commence receiving their benefits is not surprising. an anecdotal observation to be certain, but one which appears to square with the data
