When you think about Social Security, it won’t be surprising to learn there is a gap between myths and realities. Some of these differences are generational. Baby boomers, the generation most dependent on Social Security, are often unclear on what exactly this program is, how it works, and how it will benefit them.
Most concerning is the widespread misconception about the program’s sustainability. Relentless fearmongering in the news has created a myth that Social Security will run out of money before boomers can take advantage of their benefits. For that reason, it’s worth examining the most persistent myths alongside what the evidence actually shows.
Misconception #1: Social Security Is Running Out of Money
Any honest conversation about Social Security has to start with the claim that benefits will disappear in the next few years. Social Security is one of the largest line items in the federal budget, so funding exists. The real concern is that funding could see a shortfall within the next decade.
The 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, released June 9, 2026, projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) trust fund will be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032. At that point, incoming payroll tax revenues would cover roughly 78% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts beforehand. The depletion date moved up by one quarter from the 2025 report, partly because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed on July 4, 2025, reduced income-tax revenue flowing into the trust funds.
Congress will need to agree on the best path forward. Much of the panic, however, stems from politicians appearing on weekend talk shows and insisting the program will collapse unless their side of the aisle prevails. That framing is driven more by politics than by the underlying math.
To be clear, benefit amounts can and do change, but so long as Americans pay payroll taxes, the program can sustain itself. Social Security’s importance to the financial safety net is hard to overstate: the latest analysis of 2024 data by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that Social Security benefits lifted approximately 23.5 million people above the official poverty line, including nearly 17 million adults aged 65 and older.
Misconception #2: You Can Only Get Benefits at Age 65
Another common misconception is that there is a single retirement age and that you cannot receive benefits before reaching it. The reality is that there is no one “right” retirement age and that you can start claiming benefits at several different points. This myth likely spread through word of mouth: someone who had incomplete information passed it along, and a game of telephone followed.
Your retirement age will differ from your neighbor’s, which means you will draw Social Security at a different point as well. If you prefer to keep working until 70, that choice will translate into a larger monthly payment.
Part of the confusion traces back to the program’s founding in 1935, when 65 was chosen as the initial eligibility threshold. That figure was heavily influenced by late-19th-century German social insurance models under Otto von Bismarck. The age requirement was later lowered to 62 for early retirement, a flexibility option that remains a cornerstone of the system today.
Misconception #3: Social Security Will Fully Fund Your Retirement
Far too many baby boomers believe Social Security can and will cover all their retirement expenses. The reality is that your monthly benefit is based on your lifetime earnings record. Think of Social Security as a supplement to the years you worked, not as a standalone retirement savings vehicle.
Boomers can earn a larger check by holding off until age 70, but Social Security income is not fully exempt from federal income taxes, so the net amount will be less than many expect. It works best when combined with other income sources, such as a 401(k) or individual retirement account.
This misconception has roots in 1935, when the program was established to give Americans suffering through the Great Depression a floor of economic support. By the mid-1970s, however, concerns about rising benefit costs began to shift the political conversation, and the notion of Social Security as a full retirement replacement gradually lost credibility among financial planners.
Maximizing Benefits: Wait Longer
Myths aside, one of the most effective ways to maximize your Social Security benefits is simply to wait. Rather than claiming at 62, most financial advisors recommend waiting because benefits increase by 8% for every year you delay past your Full Retirement Age, up to age 70.
For anyone born in 1960 or later, the Full Retirement Age is 67. Delaying from 67 to 70 compounds three years of delayed retirement credits at 8% annually, producing a maximum benefit that is 24% higher than the baseline amount. That structural difference can translate into hundreds of extra dollars each month and thousands of additional dollars in guaranteed annual retirement income over a typical retirement horizon.
The Advanced Play: Mitigating Tax Drag and the IRMAA Trap
Delaying your claim to age 70 locks in the highest possible monthly payment, but it also raises your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) throughout retirement. Without a proactive strategy, that elevated income floor can push retirees into higher Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount (IRMAA) brackets, which significantly increases out-of-pocket premiums for Medicare Part B and Part D. The antidote is building tax-diversified retirement assets during your working years. High earners can counter IRMAA exposure by maximizing post-tax contributions through a Mega Backdoor Roth or standard Roth IRA conversions. A substantial pool of tax-free Roth capital lets you draw tax-free distributions to supplement your Social Security check while keeping your MAGI below the federal surcharge thresholds.
Maximize Benefits: Work More
One of the first things any financial advisor will recommend is optimizing career longevity. The Social Security Administration calculates your primary insurance amount by averaging your top 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for wage inflation.
If your formal work history spans fewer than 35 years, the formula automatically plugs in zeros for the missing years, which drags down your ultimate monthly payout. For anyone with career gaps, working additional years later in life, even through part-time consulting or freelance work, allows those early zeros or low-earning years to be replaced by higher modern earnings, permanently lifting the baseline benefit.
Maximize Benefits: Claiming Spousal Benefits
Any retirement-focused financial advisor will point out the value of spousal benefits. A lower-earning spouse can receive up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s full retirement age benefit, provided that amount exceeds what the lower-earning spouse would collect on their own record. Even a spouse with no work history at all can qualify for this benefit.
There is one key rule to keep in mind: the lower-earning spouse cannot claim the spousal benefit until the higher-earning spouse has actually filed for their own benefits. Spousal benefits can be claimed as early as age 62, but they will be reduced. Critically, unlike own-record retirement benefits, spousal benefits do not continue to grow past Full Retirement Age, so there is no financial advantage to delaying a spousal claim beyond 67.
It is also worth noting that a surviving spouse can claim 100% of a deceased spouse’s benefit, provided the deceased had already reached full retirement age.
Preparing for Social Security Shortfalls
Surveys consistently show that most younger Americans expect Social Security to be there when they retire, which speaks to the program’s enduring credibility. Even so, you should never rely entirely on Social Security, given the genuine possibility of reduced benefits sometime in the 2030s without congressional action.
The most straightforward hedge is to start saving as early as possible. If your employer offers a 401(k) with a match, contributing enough to capture the full match is effectively free money toward your retirement. Baby boomers who have not maximized those contributions should prioritize doing so, since higher savings can offset any future Social Security shortfall.
Financial advisors may also suggest annuities, which can provide a guaranteed income stream to fill any gap that Social Security does not cover. Annuities carry varying levels of risk depending on the type, so it is worth discussing your individual goals, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs with an advisor before committing to one.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, which places the OASI trust fund depletion in the fourth quarter of 2032, with 78% of benefits payable at that time, and notes the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on that timeline. The poverty-line figure was also updated to 23.5 million people, per the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ February 2026 analysis of 2024 Census data, and the spousal benefit section was corrected to clarify the 50% calculation and that delaying past Full Retirement Age provides no additional increase for spousal claimants.
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