The Daily Money: More may reach for Social Security earlier, leaving cash on the table
It's Wednesday and you know what that means - we're half way to the weekend! It's Charisse Jones with your Daily Money headlines.
When it comes to Social Security benefits, more Americans are saying,'Why wait?'
Just 10% of non-retired Americans say they will hold out until they turn 70 to get the maximum payout from their federal retirement benefits, according to the 2023 Schroders U.S. Retirement Survey of 2,000 U.S. investors ages 27-79.
Four in 10 of those surveyed who were still working said they intended to tap their Social Security benefits between the ages 62-65, too early to qualify for full payments, according to Schroders, an asset management firm, who conducted the survey from February 13 to March 3.
How much a retiree receives depends on the age they retire. For instance, if you stop working this year at full retirement age (which differs based on when you were born, so look here to see where you stand), your top monthly payout would be $3,627. But if you retire when you're 62, your maximum benefit would be $2,572. Meanwhile, at age 70, your top monthly payment would be $4,555.
Most Americans know that tapping benefits earlier means getting less money. But the survey found 44% of Americans are worried Social Security may run out of cash, while 36% figure they'll need their money sooner rather than later.
Mega Millions mints a new billionaire
And we have a winner. The purchaser of a Mega Millions ticket in Neptune Beach, Florida defied staggering odds to win an estimated $1.58 billion in Tuesday's drawing.
It took almost four months for a player to win the bounty, leaving the jackpot to grow to an amount that became the biggest prize ever awarded by the game, according to lottery officials. While the exact amount of Tuesday's prize was not immediately known, Mega Millions said the latest winner had a cash option of $783.3 million.
The last lottery win happened on April 18 in Syracuse, New York when a player snagged a $20 million prize. There have been five other Mega Millions wins in 2023, including a $1.348 billion prize in January that was the second-biggest haul ever awarded by the game at the time.
🍔 Today's Menu 🍔
McDonald's may be getting a new look.
The fast food chain is crafting a new restaurant concept called "CosMc,'' which will roll out at a few locations starting in early 2024, according to McDonald's CEO and president Christopher Kempczinski, who announced the plan during the company's second quarter earnings call on July 27.
In a way, the hamburger giant is going back to the future. An alien character called CosMc starred in several McDonald's TV and print ads between1986 and 1992, according to the McDonald's Wiki, a fan-created site that details the company's history.
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