Retirement Social Security

I Used to Think 70 Was the Best Time to Claim Social Security - Here’s What Changed My Mind

While claiming at 70 can work well for some retirees, there are situations when it is not the right move.

By Christy Rakoczy Bieber , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Sept. 6, 2026

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When you make your retirement plan, you have to decide on the best age to claim Social Security.

For a long time, I was convinced that age 70 was the right choice. When you claim at 70, you earn delayed retirement credits that increase your standard benefit by 8% annually after your full retirement age.

If your FRA is 67 (as it is for anyone born in 1960 or after), this means you can get a 24% benefit increase by waiting until 70. You also increase survivor benefits if you're the higher earner, since your widow(er) gets to keep your bigger benefit.

This substantial increase in monthly checks is largely why so many experts recommend delaying Social Security, and it made claiming late seem like a no-brainer to me. But then I took a closer look at some of the details, and the picture started to get murkier.

Here's why I'm rethinking the general rule that claiming Social Security at 70 is always the best choice.

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It takes a long time to break even due to the delay

Calculating the break-even age for a benefit delay was one of the biggest reasons that I started to rethink claiming Social Security at 70. The break-even age is the age when you will break even for missed benefits.

For example, let's say you'd collect $2,000 if you claimed benefits at full retirement age. If you delay until 70, you give up three full years of that $2,000 benefit. That adds up to $72,000 in forgone income.

Now, it's true you get a 24% benefit boost because you waited. So you'll collect an extra $480 per month. But you must figure out how many months it takes to make up for $72,000 in missed income at a rate of $480 extra per month. When you do the math and divide $72,000 by $480, you find out it will take you 150 months or 12.5 years.

It takes you until at least age 82.5 just to break even, and you must live even longer to end up with more lifetime income. If you are in poor health or if people in your family don't typically live long, you may not get there.

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Claiming earlier could be necessary for early retirement

There's also another reason why I started to rethink waiting. For many people, it's not possible to live just on savings and investment income without Social Security. If you need to collect Social Security in order to have enough income to retire, then waiting to claim at 70 would mean working until 70.

That's not often feasible. Family issues, health issues, a lack of job opportunities, or a simple desire to retire while you can still have some years of good health could all make it necessary to quit working long before 70.

If an early Social Security claim opens the door to leaving work when you need to, taking the financial hit that comes with giving up delayed retirement credits could be worth it.

An earlier claim can help preserve your nest egg

Finally, there's another key thing to consider that could weigh against a claim at 70. If you retire (by choice or by necessity) before 70 and you are trying to live on your investment income alone, you may risk withdrawing more than you should at a safe withdrawal rate. This could potentially result in draining your accounts.

The risk of this is compounded if you end up having to take too much money out during a market downturn because you lock in losses with those withdrawals. Claiming Social Security earlier to reduce the amount you must withdraw from your investment accounts could leave you much more secure than if you wait on your Social Security claim and end up without investment income to supplement it.

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The trust fund's financial woes don't necessarily point to an earlier claim

Finally, concerns about Social Security running short of funds were another reason I had previously considered 70 the best age to claim benefits.

Specifically, Social Security's trustees have warned that an automatic benefit cut could happen as soon as 2032. The OASI trust fund is expected to be depleted at that time, resulting in Social Security paying only 78% of promised benefits.

While it seems like it makes sense to try to maximize your monthly benefit in case of a future cut, Congress is very likely to act to shore up Social Security before that happens. Lawmakers reformed the program in 1983 when it was facing financial disaster and will likely make similar moves again, as cuts would be very unpopular.

It doesn't make much sense to make a claiming decision based on something that's most likely never going to happen, if a different decision makes sense under today's rules.

Bottom line

As you can see, there are definitely reasons why 70 may not always be the obvious choice for the best Social Security claiming age.

Ultimately, it comes down to finding the right balance between maximizing this source of guaranteed lifetime income, protecting your other investments, and maximizing your quality of life, including having some healthy years in retirement.

Since there is a lot to consider, it can sometimes pay to seek professional financial advice when deciding when to claim benefits. This can help you avoid financial mistakes when it comes to your Social Security so you aren't left with regrets.

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