A very small percentage of baby boomers are planning for how and when they will claim their Social Security, according to a survey by Securian Financial Group.
Only 18 percent have made decisions about how they will claim Social Security, but half of those have tweaked their plans within the last three years, said Michelle Hall, manager of Market Research.
Nearly half of this 18 percent, called The Planners, have created or started to create their plans between the ages of 60 and 65. The ages of 62, 50 and 55 stand out as benchmark years for planning, with 20 percent, 10 percent and 10 percent, respectively, starting at those ages.
Among the 50 percent of Planners who changed their Social Security strategies in the last three years, 59 percent changed the age at which they will retire and 48 percent changed the age at which they plan to begin collecting Social Security benefits.
Nearly 14 percent of this group also made changes in their spouse's claiming strategies.
Forty-four percent of the Planners said they decided to make a change to their Social Security plan because they were concerned about whether their savings would provide enough income in retirement and 42 percent said they needed to decide on their retirement age.
