Often yes, and the reason is that you are effectively buying an inflation-adjusted lifetime annuity at a rate no insurer offers. Spending portfolio assets to delay is the mechanism, not a side effect. It looks worse on a statement in the interim and better for the rest of a long retirement. The case weakens with a materially shortened life expectancy, and it changes shape for married couples, where the decision is really about the higher earner’s benefit as a survivor benefit.
