About this episode

David Chudyk discusses the psychological aspects of Social Security and the implications of delaying benefits.

The Psychology of Social Security The conventional wisdom says almost always delay Social Security until 70. New research says that advice is wrong for more people than you'd think — and the reason it's wrong isn't purely math. It's psychology. In this episode, David covers the 90-year history of Social Security, how it fits into a real retirement income plan, the four most overlooked risks of delay, and what the 2025 Trustees Report actually says about the program's solvency — including the number most people get completely wrong. What We Cover A brief history — From the Great Depression to the 1983 near-collapse, and Ida May Fuller's legendary $24.75 investment The retirement income pyramid — Where Social Security belongs in your plan, and what it was never designed to do Four hidden risks of delay — Mortality, sequence of returns, regret, and health span — risks that almost never show up in the standard research The solvency picture — 2025 Trustees Report data, depletion dates, and what "81 cents on the dollar" actually means (hint: it's not zero) Your personal discount rate — The framework for finding the right claiming age for your specific situation The Four Risks of Delay…

People in this episode

Host: David Chudyk

Topics covered

• Social Security
• retirement planning
• psychology of finance
• investment risks
• financial advice

Keywords

• Social Security
• retirement income
• mortality risk
• sequence of returns
• financial planning
• solvency
• claiming age

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: 2025 Trustees Report

More episodes of The Weekly Wealth Podcast

• Ep 269: Retirement planning is Life planning · May 29, 2026 · 33 min
• Ep 268: The Best Hire You'll Ever Make Lives Under Your Roof. · May 22, 2026 · 23 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Weekly Wealth Podcast podcast page.