Trying the Impossible - Financing 30-Year Retirements with 40-Year Careers: A Discussion of Social Security and Retirement Policy

Transcription

1 John B. Shoven Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics Stanford University Trying the Impossible - Financing 30-Year Retirements with 40-Year Careers: A Discussion of Social Security and Retirement Policy Talk to the Financial Literacy Seminar Series Jointly Sponsored by GFLEC and FRB September 25, 2014

2 Two Part Talk Part I The macro issue Adjusting Institutions for Longer Lifetimes Part II The micro issue Efficient Retirement Design: Combining Private Assets and Social Security to Maximize Retirement Resources

3 Living Longer It is a Fact The Probability of Future Birthdays for 65-Year Olds % year old males in % Chance of Reaching 77.5 Dwight Eisenhower and Groucho Marx were 65 in % Chance of Reaching

4 Living Longer It is a Fact The Probability of Future Birthdays for 65-Year Olds % % Chance of Reaching % Chance of % increase 65-year old males in year old males in 2014 e.g. Bruce Springsteen 50% Chance of Reaching 85 30% Chance of % Chance of Reaching

5 Living Longer It is a Fact The Probabilities of Future Birthdays % Meryl Streep turns 65 in 2014 Agatha Christie turned 65 in year old males in year old males in year old females in year old females in % Chance of Reaching % Chance Of

6 Are These Four People Really the Same Age?

7 Answer = NO! They are all 65, but they are NOT the same age 65 year olds are significantly younger today than 60 years ago Age specific mortality rates are roughly half of what they were in the 1950s Remaining Life expectancy for males at 65 has increased about 60 percent

8 Retirement Lengths for Couples Table 2. Life Expectancies of Retirement Age Married Couples Age of Age of Expected Years Expected Years Expected Length Husband Wife to First Death to Second Death of Widowhood (28) (37) (27) (36) (26) (35) (25) (34) (24) (33) (23) (32) (22) (31) (21) (30.5) (20.5) (29.7) 9.74 Note: Numbers in parenthesis represent 90th percentile outcomes Data: Cohort life tables from Social Security used in the 2012 Trustees Report for men born on 1/1/1951 and women born on 1/1/1953

9 A Few Important Facts Average retirement age is 64 for men, 62 for women At those ages, people need to prepare for at least 30-year retirements At those ages, the survivor of a couple outlives their spouse by an average of 11 years YOU CAN T FINANCE 30-YEAR RETIREMENTS WITH 40-YEAR CAREERS!

10 The Consequences of Trying to Finance 30- year Retirements with 40-Year Careers Vastly underfunded state and local pension funds Social Security Trust Fund becomes exhausted in 2033, followed by a roughly 25% cut in benefits Fewer workers relative to retirees Lower standard of living for retired workers

11 What Can We Do About It? The easiest solution is to work longer For instance, 48-year careers and 22-year retirements Today s Stanford undergraduates probably will need to work until at least 70

12 Hidden Early Retirement Incentives Need to be Eliminated - I Social Security turns into a pure tax on work soon after 35 years of work Introduce Paid Up Workers = People who have already worked 40 years. Paid Up workers would not face either the employer and the employee payroll tax for Social Security and Medicare This would remove a 15.3% wedge between employer s cost and employee s take home pay Change PIA formula so that all years of work count the same

13 Net Effect Reward Long Careers

14 Hidden Early Retirement Incentives Need to be Eliminated - II Medicare could be changed from Medicare as a Secondary Payer (MSP) to Medicare as a Primary Payer (MPP) Today, people 65+ get Medicare unless they work. If they work, then the employer sponsored health plan must include them. MPP would mean that those 65 and over would be covered by Medicare whether they work or not

15 Simply Change the Terminology of Social Security Change Full Retirement Age to 70 2,800 2,600 Monthly Benefits for Different Commencement Ages Possible New Definition of Benefits at Full Retirement Age 2,400 2,200 2,000 Benefits at Official Full Retirement Age 1,800 1,600 1,400 Why Not Have the Full Retirement Age Correspond to the Maximum Monthly Benefit?

16 We Need To Change Labor Market Institutions to Reflect Longer Lifetimes Change Social Security Paid Up Change Medicare MPP Change the Full Retirement Age Facilitate Part Time Opportunities for Senior Workers Retrain workers in their mid-career Look at how Japanese labor markets work

17 Efficient Retirement Design: Combining Private Assets and Social Security to Maximize Retirement Resources John B. Shoven Sita N. Slavov Research Supported by Social Security and the Sloan Foundation

18 What is the Prevalent Retirement Design? Answer = Start Social Security Almost Immediately Commencement of Social Security 18

19 What Could People Do? Separate retirement and Social Security commencement decisions Social Security benefits are increased (actuarially adjusted) for later commencement DC assets could be used to finance deferral rather than to supplement Social Security benefits 19

20 The Actuarial Adjustments for Delaying Social Security Commencement % Change in Monthly Benefit Defer to Defer From 20

21 Percent One Reason that Deferring Social Security is Attractive: Market Interest Rates are Low 3.5 Ten-Year TIPS Interest Rates, January 2003 to Septermber Jan-03 Jan-04 Jan-05 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-09 Jan-10 Jan-11 Jan-12 Jan-13 Jan Month 21

22 Another Reason: People are Living Much Longer Life Expectancy of People in Their 60s Today Table 1. Remaining Life Expectancies of Retirement Age Singles Age Men Women (33) 23.5 (35) (32) 22.7 (34) (31) 21.9 (33) (30) 21.1 (32) (29) 20.3 (31) (28) 19.5 (30) (27) 18.7 (29) (26) 17.9 (28) (25) 17.1 (27) Note: Numbers in Parenthesis represent 90th percentile outcomes Data: Social Security Cohort Life Tables for people born on 1/1/

23 Deferring is a Much Better Deal for the Higher Earner in a Couple Survivor (widow) benefits are based on the higher of the two individual benefit amounts Higher earner s benefits are paid out as a secondto-die annuity (for an expected 22 to 25 years even after deferral) Lower earner s benefits paid out as a first-to-die annuity(for years on average after deferral) 23

24 The Advantage of Knowing the Rules in Detail: Getting Paid By Social Security While Deferring If higher earner defers to 70, he or she can collect spousal benefits at 66 and still defer own-record benefits Collecting spousal benefits after the Full Retirement Age (66) is almost always part of an efficient retirement design for couples Many singles can collect spousal benefits on an ex-spouse and still benefit from deferring own-record benefits 24

25 The Suggested Strategy Single men in average health should defer to 68 to 70. Single women in average health should defer to 70 Higher earner in a couple should defer to 70 unless both spouses are in poor health. Higher earner should consider collecting spousal benefits at 66 When the lower earner starts benefits doesn t make much difference 25

26 What is the Potential Gain? Optimal Claiming vs. Immediate Claiming at 62 with 0% Real Interest Rate AIME=3,476 AIME = Max Single Man, Average Health 40,000 60,000 Single Man, Good Health 60, ,000 Single Woman, Average Health 60,000 95,000 Single Woman, Good Health 85, ,000 Two-Earner Couple, Lower PIA is 75%, Average Health Two-Earner Couple, Lower PIA is 75%, Both in Good Health 125, , , ,000 26

27 Case Study of Two-Earner Couple Husband and wife are both 62, in average health, and are retiring Husband s average annual income was approximately $55,000 Wife s average income was approximately $42,000 Combined 401(k) Assets are $250,000 Common Strategy: Start Social Security at 62 and buy annuity with 401(k) funds Optimal Strategy: Husband Defers to 70, wife to 66 27

28 Couple s Income with Immediate Commencement and Annuity Purchase Two Percent Inflation Assumption 28

29 Couple s Income with Efficient Retirement Design Efficient Retirement Design Has Wife Starting Benefits at 66, Husband Collecting Spousal Benefits at 66 and Own Benefits at 70 29

30 Difference in Income at 70 and Beyond Income is Identical from

31 Monthly Income Advantage : 25-30% Higher Widow s Benefits Survivor's Income with Each Strategy 5,000 4,500 Extra Widow's Income with 66/70 Series Strategy Widown's Income with Parallel Strategy 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000 1,500 1, Age 31

32 Add It Up Couple Has Same Income from $579 - $1,450 more per month from 70 onwards Survivor (Widow) Enjoys 25-30% more income Children may benefit since likelihood of a dependent widow is reduced Deferring to 66 and 70 dominates the outcome where both spouses start Social Security at 62 32

33 Who Should Defer Social Security? At current real interest rates, almost everybody! Optimal commencement age shown in parenthesis Single black male with less than high school education (68) Single male in poor health (2X mortality) (65) Single woman in average health (70) Single woman in poor health (2X mortality) (68) For couples, almost all primary earners should defer to 70 Most non-earners in one-earner households (66) Secondary earners in two-earner households (varies from 62 to 70 depending on race, education and health) 33

34 Why Has Deferral Become Such a Good Deal? Much lower interest rates than assumed by Social Security when they assessed actuarial fairness (they used 2.9% real) Much improved mortality More advantageous Social Security rules Improved delayed retirement credits File and suspend 34

35 Example of Relative Importance The Case of Single Women Birth Year Actual Interest and Mortality Rates Optimal Claiming Age Percentage Gain Constant Interest Rate (2.9%) and Mortality Rates Optimal Claiming Age Percentage Gain Note: For the 1951 birth cohort, the rules and the mortality rates are the same for all columns. The only difference is the interest rate. Note also that deferring Social Security would be profitable for single women even with 2.9% real interest rates. 35

36 One More Example: Two-Earner Couples with a Two-Year Age Gap Primary s Birth Year Actual Interest and Mortality Rates Optimal Claiming Ages 66/62 68/62 69/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/70 Percentage Gain Constant Interest Rate (2.9%) and Mortality Rates Optimal Claiming Ages 68/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 70/62 Percentage Gain Conclusion: Even with 2.9% Real Interest Rates, there would be big gains for married couples with today s rules and mortality rates 36

37 A Sign of Progress: October 2014 Consumer Reports Try to delay claiming Social Security As the Social Security program is currently designed, waiting to claim benefits is the best guaranteed retirement savings plan around. Workers who delay filing until they re 66 the full retirement age for those born between 1943 and 1954 increase their monthly benefits by 8 percent per year until age 70, or 32 percent over four years. But, filing early reduces benefits. 37

38 More from the 10/2014 CR Claiming benefits late wasn t the norm among our readers. Of those already retired, 55 percent had started taking benefits at 62. But, 52 percent of those not yet retired told us they would claim their benefits at full retirement age; an additional 29 percent said they d wait even longer. 38

39 Another Sign of Progress: September 6-7 USA Today Retirement: When to Start Social Security By Wayne Fourman, AdviceIQ 1. Use the Proper Start Date for Benefits. Assume that you have sufficient income without starting your benefits at age 62 your earliest date of eligibility, when you get reduced benefits and that your life expectancy is average or better. Then, delaying your start date can be a good investment. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, you can increase your monthly payments as much as 76% based on when you start your benefits, at 62 or 70, and that does not include any cost-of-living adjustment 39

40 The Final Message Working longer is inevitable due to dramatically longer lifetimes. Americans can t finance 30- year retirements publicly or privately There is considerable opportunity to use existing retirement assets and entitlements more efficiently. Many retiring couples could enjoy an extra $100 - $200K of lifetime consumption simply by efficiently using their 401(k) assets and deferring the claiming of Social Security 40