Encore: Work that matters in the second half of life.

When it comes to Social Security, for some reason, policy makers and policy analysts seem to prefer sticks to carrots.

A case in point is this issue brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, which makes the case for raising the age at which Social Security early retirement benefits can be claimed from 62 to 63.5.

John A. Turner, a pension consultant and research associate at the center, lays out the data supporting the argument that most people can indeed work longer now than in 1961, when the early retirement benefit was first adopted. And since more than half of all adults do indeed claim their benefits as early as possible, he argues that raising the early retirement age is an effective way of encouraging longer work lives. Then, by splitting the increased longevity — one year of retirement for every two years of work — he concludes that 63.5 years is a reasonable age that won’t adversely affect more than about 10 percent of the population (whom, he suggests, could be helped by loosening provisions for disability benefits).

All true, perhaps. But why not offer incentives for working longer, rather than punishments for early retirement? The effect on the federal budget would be the same, and we’d get the most motivated, rather than the least motivated, workers to remain in the workforce.

For example, under current law, individuals can increase their monthly income for life simply by postponing the date at which they claim Social Security payments for three years after their “normal” retirement age. Future payments increase by 8 percent a year for up to three years, producing a lifetime monthly bonus of up to 24 percent.

A study by the Federal Reserve found that the bonus has been effective in spurring people to work longer. Extending it beyond three years could make it even more effective.