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Cheerful senior man at home looking at his mail

For the past decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has projected lower 75-year deficits than the Social Security Trustees.  That relationship has now reversed, with CBO projecting a larger 75-shortfall (see Table 1).  One reason for the reversal is that CBO has switched from relying on the Social Security actuaries’ mortality assumptions and have com…

Graphic: Thinking wires in brains

It’s common for people to begin collecting their Social Security benefits soon after they turn 62, ignoring the financial planners and retirement experts urging them to postpone and increase the size of their monthly checks. A new study has uncovered four powerful psychological traits that influence this decision: the individual’s expected longevity, his fear of…