Ep 524: Don't Claim Too Early: The Social Security Mistake That Could Cost You 30%

HerMoney with Jean Chatzky

Jean Chatzky Her Money

Investing, Business

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2026

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Did you know that claiming Social Security at 62 instead of 70 could mean locking in a permanent 30% cut to your monthly benefits for life? In this episode, Jean sits down with Marcia Mantell, founder of Mantell Retirement Consulting and author of Social Security: Lightly Toasted, Not Burnt, to talk about what's really going on with Social Security's solvency, why Congress will almost certainly act before the fund runs dry, and how to make the best claiming decision for you. In this episode: The truth behind the "benefit cuts are coming" headlines, and what they get wrong Why the 2032 trust fund deadline isn't the catastrophe it sounds like What "popcorn careers" are doing to women's Social Security benefits The divorced spouse rules that could mean hundreds of extra dollars a month Survivor benefits: what every married woman needs to plan for now The real cost of claiming early Create your my Social Security account: ssa.gov Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:55.2	If you claim at 62, you have made the decision to lock in a 30% permanent reduction to your
1:04.0	monthly benefits.
1:05.2	30%.
1:06.3	I mean, we're lucky if we get like a two or a three percent raise every year while we're
1:10.1	working, right? Why would you lock like a two or a three percent raise every year when we're working, right?
1:11.1	Why would you lock in a 30 percent cut to your benefits when you can control it?
1:16.6	So your $3,000 drops to $2,100 a month.
1:21.1	That's a lot less than $3,000.
1:25.3	Hey, everyone.
1:26.2	Welcome to Hermione.
1:27.2	I'm Gene Chatsky, and I'm just going to say it. The headlines about Social Security are pretty terrifying these days. Just last week, a Market Watch opinion piece made the argument that benefit cuts are coming and that they will hit current retirees hard. The piece points out that Social Security's trust fund could run
1:47.0	short of money in just a few years, resulting in cuts of around 22% by 2033, possibly sooner.
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