Have people delayed claiming retirement benefits? Responses to changes in Social Security rules

This article examines changes in the age at which people claim Social Security retirement benefits in response to two recent changes in the Social Security rules: the removal of the retirement earnings test at ages 65 to 69 in 2000 and the gradual increase in the full retirement age (FRA) for those born in 1938 or later. Data come from the 1 percent sample of Social Security administrative data for 1997-2005. Descriptive and regression analyses show that the largest effect of the change in the earnings test rule in 2000 occurs at age 65. At that age, the proportion of people who claim retirement benefits increases by about 4 percentage points among men and 2 percentage points among women. The response to the gradual increase in the FRA occurs not only among those who are close to the FRA but also among those who are close to the early retirement age.