Could Social Security turmoil influence senior homeowners and reverse mortgage demand?

A sharp but temporary spike in early Social Security claims in 2024 and 2025 underscores a potential trend for the housing market — a greater number of older Americans who are locking in permanently lower retirement income in response to political and administrative uncertainty. Over the weekend, The New York Times followed up on a report shared last year by HousingWire‘s Reverse Mortgage Daily (RMD). The initial report from the Times found that from October 2024 to April 2025, retirement claims jumped by 267,000, or 13%, compared with the prior year. Historically, year-over-year fluctuations have been closer to 2% to 3%. Analysts at the Urban Institute and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College tied the spike to highly publicized turmoil at the Social Security Administration — including staff cuts, office-closure threats and political rhetoric questioning the program’s solvency. Social Security claims made before the full retirement age (which is now 67 for those born in 1960 or later) permanently reduces monthly benefits. This week, the Times interviewed two claimants — one who gave up about $5,000 a year by filing at 64 and another who sacrificed about $300 a month...