Concerns about the future of the Social Security Administration may tempt some workers to claim retirement benefits early.

Yet experts warn that may not be the best decision.

It’s no secret that Social Security is running low on funding. Fears that the program might not be able to pay benefits in the future — or that benefits might be cut — have prompted people to take their money earlier, even if it means receiving a smaller monthly payment for the rest of their lives.

In 2024, the trustees projected the trust fund used to help pay retirement benefits may be depleted in 2033, when 79% of benefits will be payable. Social Security’s trustees have not yet released new trust fund depletion projections in 2025.

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Changes at the Social Security Administration — including staff cuts and long wait times for service — do not encourage more confidence in the program, noted Kelly LaVigne vice president of consumer insights at Allianz Life Insurance Company.

A recent survey from Allianz found that 64% of Americans are more worried about running out money than they are about dying. Meanwhile, Social Security not providing enough money was the second reason cited for those worries behind inflation, the survey found.

On average, Social Security benefits replace about 40% of a worker’s pre-retirement income, according to the SSA. As Congress eventually seeks a fix to the program’s funding woes, that may require Americans to pay more taxes and/or receive less benefits.

“If you cut that, or there’s a threat of cutting that, that does make the fear of running out of money even greater,” LaVigne said of Social Security benefits.

Individuals who want to take their retirement benefits at age 62 — otherwise known as the early eligibility age — need to understand their benefits will be reduced, Herzog said. By waiting until full retirement age — generally age 66 to 67, depending on date of birth — beneficiaries may receive 100% of the benefits they earned.

For workers whose full retirement age is 66, claiming early at 62 will result in a 25% reduction in monthly benefits. For workers whose full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 prompts a 30% cut to monthly benefits. Yet most people claim before full retirement age, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Workers who wait even longer to claim retirement benefits — up to age 70 — stand to receive the biggest monthly checks. For every year individuals wait past full retirement age, they stand to receive an 8% increase to their benefits. For workers whose full retirement age is 66, that represents a 32% boost to monthly benefits. For workers with a full retirement age of 67, that’s a 24% boost.

“For those who expect to have a normal life expectancy of 80 years plus, then it can make sense to wait to age 70 to get the maximum benefit,” Herzog said.

To be sure, the decision comes down to many factors, including how long someone is able to work, whether they can draw from other investment income and the choice that will help them best sleep at night, Herzog said.

Notably, delaying even just one month can help increase monthly benefit checks.

Most workers who expect to live long lives will want to prioritize the risk they could outlive their money, and therefore delay claiming benefits, according to Vanguard research.

But for those who do not expect to live as long, the prospect of break-even risk — or the risk of receiving a smaller total sum by delaying — should be prioritized instead, according to Vanguard.

Claiming early can provide other perks, such as making it possible to spread the tax burden of that income over more years, Vanguard’s research notes. Plus, with lower monthly checks, less of that Social Security income may be taxed and it may be possible to keep Medicare income-related monthly adjusted amounts, or IRMAA, low, according to the research.

Yet for many individuals, there are other reasons to wait to claim that are compelling, particularly if their spouses may need to live on their benefits once they die. Moreover, having higher monthly benefits means they may be better prepared to withstand unexpected financial shocks, according to Vanguard.

Periods of extreme volatility in the stock market may feel painful for investors — but such periods are generally followed by strong stock returns, if history is a guide, according to market analysts.

In that sense, many investors would be wise not to sell stocks — and should perhaps even buy more, analysts said.

The VIX index, also known at the Wall Street fear gauge, measures the market’s estimate of expected volatility in the S&P 500 stock index.

When the VIX has spiked to a level above 40 — indicating “significant” volatility — the S&P 500 has been up 30% a year later, on average, according to a Wells Fargo Investment Institute analysis of the market from January 1990 to April 16, 2025.

The odds of stock returns being positive 12 months later were also above 90% during these periods, the analysis found.

In other words, volatility creates a “potential opportunity,” Edward Lee, a Wells Fargo investment strategy analyst, wrote in the analysis on Monday.

“Concern is normal, but history has taught us that periods of higher volatility have historically led to higher returns,” Lee wrote.

So, why is there a greater probability of positive and higher stock returns relative to periods of lower volatility?

Volatility “tends to coincide with times of high drawdowns and investor panic, both of which lead to higher probabilities of investing success of the next 12 months,” Lee wrote in an e-mail.

Stock volatility spiked in early April after President Donald Trump announced unexpectedly high country-specific tariffs, and the S&P 500 sold off almost 11% in two days.

The VIX reached about 53, among the top 1% closes for that index in history, Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, wrote last week.

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But low expectations often lead to “relief rallies,” when people pile back into stocks because the initial news isn’t quite as bad as they thought, Cox wrote.

For example, since 1990, about half of the S&P 500’s 14 selloffs of 10% or more ended within a week of the VIX’s highest close, and three ended on the day of its highest close, Cox wrote.

Such selloffs are usually “V-shaped,” meaning there’s a sharp downturn and then a quick rebound, she said in an interview with CNBC.

However, things could be different this time around, she said.

“We’re [still] trying to figure out where the new center of gravity is” with trade policy, Cox said.

“The unexpected news part of the sell-off is probably past us, and if you are a long-term investor, now is probably the time to start buying,” Cox said. “But you can’t expect this to be the bottom of the sell-off. And history isn’t always gospel.”

House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans have released their plan to overhaul the country’s student loan and financial aid system, calling for limits on student borrowing and a reduction to the repayment options for borrowers.

The GOP measure, known as the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan, is aimed at helping Republicans pass President Donald Trump‘s tax cuts.

“For decades Congress has responded to the student loan crisis by throwing more and more taxpayer dollars at the problem — never addressing the root causes of skyrocketing college costs,” committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said in a statement.

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The proposal immediately triggered warnings from consumer advocates, who said the measures would deepen the affordability crisis families already face in paying for college.

“The committee’s current proposal would severely restrict college access by slashing financial aid programs, eliminating basic consumer protections and making it harder to repay student loan debt,” said Sameer Gadkaree, president and CEO of The Institute for College Access & Success.

Here are some of the proposals in the Republicans’ legislation.

That’s a concern for Kantrowitz and other consumer advocates, who point out that private student loans come with far fewer borrower protections than federal student loans.

The GOP proposal would reduce the number of existing income-driven repayment plans for new federal student loan borrowers to just one. IDR plans aim to make monthly payments affordable for borrowers by capping the bills at a portion of their discretionary income.

More than 12 million people were enrolled in IDR plans as of September 2024, according to Kantrowitz.

It would also eliminate the unemployment deferment and economic hardship deferment for federal student loan borrowers, on debt taken out during or after July 2025.

The federal Pell Grant program, signed into law in 1965, is one of the largest sources of financial aid available to college students. More than 6 million undergraduate students received the grants in 2020. The maximum Pell Grant award is $7,395 for the 2025-26 award year.

Meanwhile, the grants would be expanded for short-term workforce training programs.