The Raise You Get For Waiting on Social Security

You can start Social Security as early as 62. You can wait as late as 70. And the difference between those choices is larger than almost anyone expects.

For each year you delay past your full retirement age, which is 67 for most people retiring now, your benefit grows by roughly 8%. Wait from 67 to 70, and your monthly check is about 24% larger, for life, adjusted for inflation every year after.

Think about what that really is. It is a guaranteed, inflation-protected raise, backed by the federal government, that you simply cannot buy anywhere else at that price.

Claiming early is not always wrong. If you are in poor health, or you need the income, or you are coordinating with a spouse’s benefit, taking it sooner can be the right call. This is genuinely personal.

But too many people claim at 62 by default, simply because they can, without running the math on what waiting would mean over a 25- or 30-year retirement.

Here is the quiet power of waiting: a larger Social Security check means you can withdraw less from your portfolio, which leaves more of your savings invested and working. The decision ripples through your entire plan.

You can model your own benefit at different ages with the “my Social Security” tool at https://www.ssa.gov.

Your trusted advisor can run the claiming decision alongside your taxes, your spouse’s benefit, and your health, so you choose the timing that fits your whole life, not just this year.

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