Social Security remains one of the most important benefits available to older Americans, providing a crucial monthly income stream for millions of retirees. For many households, those payments are essential to covering everyday expenses.
Because the timing of your claim matters, it is worth understanding how filing age affects your monthly benefit. Although your wage history helps determine what you receive, when you start collecting also plays a major role.
Many people aim to file at full retirement age, but delaying until 70 can significantly increase the size of your checks.
When you can start collecting Social Security
You may begin claiming Social Security at 62. To receive your full retirement benefit without a reduction, however, you must wait until full retirement age. For anyone born in 1960 or later, that age is 67.
Even so, you do not have to claim benefits at full retirement age. You can wait longer, and doing so can come with a meaningful reward.
How delayed retirement credits add up
If you hold off on filing after reaching full retirement age, Social Security gives you delayed retirement credits. These credits are worth about two-thirds of 1% for each month you delay, which adds up to an 8% increase for every year you wait.
Those credits stop once you reach 70, which is why that age is generally considered the latest practical point to begin benefits.
For someone with a full retirement age of 67, waiting until 70 can lift monthly benefits by 24% for life. In some cases, that higher amount can also help a spouse later on.
If you are the higher earner in a marriage, a surviving spouse may be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of your monthly Social Security payment. That means the boost you earn by delaying can carry over to your spouse after your death.
Spousal benefits work differently, though. Delayed retirement credits do not increase spousal benefits, which top out at 50% of the primary earner’s full retirement age benefit. If you are claiming as a spouse, waiting past your own full retirement age will not raise the amount you receive.
When waiting until 70 may make sense
Delaying benefits until 70 can produce much larger monthly checks for the rest of your life. It may be a smart choice if you have limited retirement savings and expect Social Security to cover most of your expenses after you stop working.
It can also be a strong option if you are the higher earner and expect your lower-earning spouse to outlive you by many years, since they may depend on the larger survivor benefit.
Your health matters as well. If you are in good health and expect a long retirement, waiting can increase the total amount you collect over your lifetime. A family history of long life can point in the same direction.
When claiming earlier may be better
Although waiting until 70 raises your monthly benefit, it does not always maximize lifetime income. If you do not live long after filing, you may not receive enough checks to make up for the years you skipped.
That is why someone in poor health, or someone whose parents died relatively young, may want to claim earlier than 70. If there is concern about not living into the mid-70s, filing as early as 62 could actually produce more lifetime income.
The bottom line
Even if you have saved well for retirement, Social Security may still be a major part of your financial plan. Claiming at full retirement age avoids a reduction, but waiting can increase your benefit considerably.
Still, delaying until 70 is not automatically the best financial move for everyone, even with the potential 24% boost. Before choosing when to file, consider your health, family longevity, household income needs, and overall retirement goals.
You may decide that waiting until 70 is the right choice. If not, filing earlier does not necessarily mean you are making a mistake.
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