September 10, 2025
The Honorable Lloyd Smucker
11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania
302 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Congressman Smucker,
On behalf of AMAC Action, the advocacy affiliate of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), with over 2 million members nationwide, I write to express our strong support for your Claiming Age Clarity Act. This commonsense reform is vital to ensuring older Americans make informed decisions that directly impact their financial security in retirement.
For too long, the terminology used by the Social Security Administration has misled millions of Americans into making suboptimal choices about when to claim their hard-earned benefits. Labeling age 62 as the “early eligibility age,” for example, may give the false impression that it is the recommended or standard time to claim benefits. In reality, doing so can result in a permanent reduction of up to 30% in monthly benefits. Likewise, referring to 66 or 67 as the “full retirement age” implies that no advantage exists in waiting longer, when in fact benefits continue to increase significantly, by up to 8% annually, until age 70.
We applaud the changes proposed in your bill: renaming age 62 as the “minimum benefit age,” the current full retirement age as the “standard benefit age,” and age 70 as the “maximum benefit age.” These simple adjustments will more accurately reflect the program’s design and guide retirees toward better long-term financial decisions.
Research shows that today’s seniors lose a combined $3.4 trillion in potential income due to early claiming. Clear, transparent terminology is a critical step toward solving this problem. As conservatives, we believe in personal responsibility, but that responsibility must be supported by honest information. Your bill enhances transparency, strengthens the long-term economic well-being of seniors, and does so without expanding the size or scope of government.
We thank you for your commitment to America’s retirees and proudly endorse the Claiming Age Clarity Act.
Sincerely,
Andrew J. Mangione Jr.
Senior Vice President
AMAC Action
