New guide explores making the most of Socia...( CHAMPAIGN Ill. Many older Americans...),Health

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Many older Americans may be shortchanging their golden years by tapping into Social Security too soon, according to a University of Illinois expert who has studied the federal retirement program for nearly two decades.

More than three of every four Americans trim their monthly Social Security checks for life by claiming benefits early, a choice many might forego if they better understood the program's options and consequences, law professor Richard L. Kaplan says.

An authority on elder law, Kaplan has written a practical guide that appears in the July-August issue of the Journal of Retirement Planning to help people decide when to start collecting Social Security benefits.

The guide covers a myriad of variables, including the implications of tapping early retirement benefits available as early as age 62 rather than waiting until full retirement age, which is gradually increasing to 67 for people born in 1960 or later.

"It depends on individual circumstances, but I think a lot of people claim early inappropriately," Kaplan said. "Some have unfounded fears that Social Security will go bankrupt. Others do it because their friends are doing it. There's a huge social network component to this."

He says one of the biggest mistakes people make is underestimating their life expectancy, which now averages about 77 years in the U.S., up from just 61 when Social Security was established in 1935.

Miscalculations often stem from looking at family health history without factoring in medical progress that has made once-fatal ailments treatable, Kaplan said.

"They should talk to their doctor, but the fact that their parents died young does not mean they should jump into Social Security," he said. "It depends on what their parents died from. Even if they have the same condition, their experience is likely going to be better."

Claiming Social Security at age 62 nets a roughly 25 pe
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