"As a guaranteed income stream that cannot otherwise be liquidated or reinvested, most retirees don't think of their Social Security benefits as an asset.... Yet unlike most other assets, the value of Social Security is uniquely impacted by its assumptions... where unlike traditional assets, the value is actually higher when inflation rises, and is greater when interest rates are low. As a result, viewing Social Security as an asset actually reveals that it is a highly desirable asset for a retiree, uniquely capable of hedging many risks in retirement that traditional portfolios cannot... and making it all the more appealing to preserve the Social Security 'asset' for its diversification by delaying benefits as long as possible!"