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Social Security Clickbait

I'm sure you've seen these little teaser links on the Internet that can sometimes be too irresistible to ignore. They have catchy titles like "20 Celebrities Who Have a Secret Past" or "10 Common Foods That Will Kill You." This kind of come-on is called "clickbait." Frequently, it's a form of false advertising that is designed to entice people browsing the web to follow a link to read or view some content that is usually disingenuous at best, and totally misleading at worst.

And there is a growing number of Social Security-themed clickbait. As I mentioned in a recent column, one of the most common ones goes something like this: "6 Major Changes to Social Security Coming in 2026." And I'm sure many people fall for that come-on and open the link because they sure don't want to miss out on any major changes to the program that might affect them.

But if you take the bait and open the link, you will learn that the "major changes" coming in 2026 are simply routine updates to Social Security that happen every year. For example, one of those changes is the annual cost-of-living increase that every Social Security beneficiary gets every January. Another is the routine annual increase in the amount of money a working beneficiary under full retirement age can make before any penalties are imposed on his or her benefits. There is not a single "major change" contained in any of these come-ons.

An increasingly common clickbait scenario, frequently sent as an email, usually goes something like this: "Click here to get your annual Social Security statement." Those are always false because the Social Security Administration rarely sends Social Security statements, or any other Social Security information, to people via email.

I have never been naive enough to take the bait and open those kinds of emails. But I have two friends who did. One guy told me he was sent to a page that was trying to sell him insurance. But far worse than that, another friend said he followed the link and it led him to a porn site!

Another common theme of Social Security-related clickbait sites involves "secrets." Here are a couple I saw recently. "Three Social Security secrets no one knows." And another: "The secret to how you are losing out on $3.4 trillion in Social Security."

I guess the temptation of learning a secret sells. But when it comes to Social Security, there really aren't any. There might be some information that you are not yet aware of. But all of that information is definitely not secret because it is readily available from places like the Social Security Administration website (www.socialsecurity.gov), a local financial planner or from reading this column.

And frequently, the so-called "secrets" are really just bits of information I'd bet most people are already familiar with. For example, here are those "Three Social Security Secrets No One Knows." One: Your benefits are reduced if you take them before full retirement age. Two: Your benefits are increased if you delay filing until after your full retirement age. Three: There is no point in waiting beyond age 70 to file for Social Security.

The reduction for early retirement is pretty straightforward and relatively modest. It is roughly one-half of 1% for each month a Social Security check is taken before full retirement age. But here is an interesting and revealing point. The clickbait site says your benefit is "slashed" if taken early.

The site also says you get a "generous" increase if you delay your benefits until after your full retirement age. The delayed retirement credit you get is actually two-thirds of 1% for each month you wait after your FRA to file for benefits.

And why do these clickbait sites exaggerate the downside of early retirement and overplay the upsides to delayed retirement? Because almost all of them have one goal: to get you to wait until age 70 to start your Social Security -- and in the meantime, to sign up for financial services offered by the companies sponsoring the sites.

To illustrate this further, let's recall that other clickbait come on I mentioned earlier -- the one that said: "The Secret to How You Are Losing Out on $3.4 Trillion in Social Security." Well, I guess somehow the author of that website used some very dubious math to figure out that all retiring baby boomers in this country will be losing out on combined benefits of $3.4 trillion if they don't wait until age 70 to start their Social Security checks.

So I guess my wife and I have missed out on part of that $3.4 trillion because we both took our Social Security benefits at 62. I've discussed our reasons for doing this many times in this column. In a nutshell, we both decided to grab our benefits early because we wanted to have fun spending that money before we got too old to enjoy it. (And of course, it helped that I also had my civil service pension for all the years I spent working for the federal government.)

I am definitely not saying everyone should file for their Social Security as soon as they reach age 62. I am simply pointing out that there are various reasons why some people might not want to wait until age 70 to file.

As I've said over and over again in this column, I am not a financial planner. I'm just an old, retired Social Security guy. But I do know enough to tell you there are many obvious factors you need to take into account when deciding at which age to begin your Social Security benefits. Do you think you will live to a ripe old age, and you will want more benefits in the long run? Then wait until age 70. Are you unsure of your longevity and are looking for more cash up front? Then take Social Security before then. Are you trying to guarantee higher survivor benefits for your spouse after you die? Then wait until age 70. Or do you and your spouse prefer to have more of that money in your early 60s as opposed to just one of you having more money later on? Then file sooner.

I can also tell you that I've heard from enough financial planners over the years to realize that more and more of them are suggesting that most people would be wise to start their benefits at full retirement age.

So another message of today's column is this. When deciding when to start your Social Security benefits, consider all the things going on with your health, your finances and your marital status. And maybe talk to a financial planner. But definitely do not rely on clickbait to make your Social Security decisions.

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Copyright 2026 Creators Syndicate, Inc.