One Social Security decision could boost your monthly benefit significantly

If you want to raise your Social Security benefit by 24%, there is one key move to make: delay filing your claim.

Social Security uses both early-claim penalties and delayed retirement credits. If you begin benefits at full retirement age, neither rule changes your payment and you receive your standard amount. Claiming early lowers your monthly check for each month you start before full retirement age, while waiting past that age increases it.

Early filing cuts benefits by 6.67% per year during the first three years before full retirement age and by 5% per year for additional years. For someone with a full retirement age of 67, filing at 62 means a 30% reduction. By contrast, waiting until 70 can increase the benefit by 24%.

In practical terms, if your full retirement age benefit were $2,000, delaying for three more years would raise it to $2,480. That extra $480 each month would add up to $5,760 more per year. The higher your original benefit, the larger the dollar gain.

In other words, waiting three years beyond full retirement age can mean 24% more in monthly checks for life, which could amount to tens of thousands of dollars over time. Because Social Security is inflation-adjusted and lasts as long as you do, the added income can be well worth the wait.

Plan ahead to claim Social Security at 70

If you want to maximize retirement income and secure that 24% boost, it helps to plan well in advance. Many people do not want to postpone retirement until 70, so it is wise to save and invest enough to cover your living expenses until Social Security starts, even if you leave the workforce earlier.

If you have already retired, you may still have a way to capture the increase. If you began benefits less than 12 months ago, you may be able to withdraw your claim and wait. That requires repaying the benefits you have received on your own record, but it could be worthwhile if it leads to a much larger future benefit.

If it has been more than 12 months, you may still have an option if you have reached your full retirement age: you can suspend benefits. Doing so allows delayed retirement credits to continue building, and those credits can accrue until age 70.

Of course, this only works if you can support yourself through withdrawals from a 401(k), IRA, or other income sources. But if you can manage that and earn the 24% increase, the long-term payoff could be substantial.