Retirement Social Security

6 Signs You Should Claim Social Security Late at 70

Find out if waiting until 70 for benefits can pay off.

By Josh Koebert , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated June 7, 2026

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Social Security full retirement age (FRA) is 66-67 for most people, and claiming then gives you 100% of your calculated benefits. But your senior benefits check amount grows about 8% per year for each year you wait after this time and up to age 70, so it may make sense to delay as long as possible.

For someone born in 1960, claiming at 70 results in 124% of the full benefit, but it's not the right choice for everyone. Here are the signs to look for when deciding if the delayed path is the correct one.

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You're healthy and expect a long retirement

The longer you live, the more years you'll collect a higher, delayed benefit. Healthy seniors who think they may reach their mid-80s or later may be good candidates to claim at 70. This is about probabilities, however, not guarantees, and you're banking on the fact you'll live long enough to enjoy those increased monthly benefits.

If someone lives well into their 90s, the higher monthly amount they lock in at 70 often outweighs the missed checks in their 60s, especially for singles.

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You don't need the income yet

Another major sign that you can wait until 70 is that you have enough income from work, pensions, or another savings source to cover expenses without Social Security. This isn't always the case for people in their 60s, but these other assets can be used as a bridge between FRA and 70.

The reward is faster growth on your future benefits checks (8% per year delayed) than what you would see from high-interest savings or low-yield accounts. This works best if you're comfortable drawing down savings in exchange for larger Social Security payments later.

You want to maximize survivor benefits for a spouse

If you're the higher-earning spouse and you delay claiming benefits, the higher amount can be the basis for a surviving spouse benefit if you die first. That means your spouse can have more financial security via spousal benefits than they would have if you had claimed earlier.

For partners where one spouse outlives the other by many years, this is especially reassuring and could be a sound plan to stretch the nest egg for the surviving spouse.

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You're still working and could face benefit reductions

Even part-time employment and side gigs add to your monthly income, and while this seems nice at the moment, they can affect income thresholds that temporarily reduce benefit checks. That's because, if you claim before FRA while still working and exceed certain limits, you will have some of your Social Security benefits withheld.

You'll get those benefits back eventually, but by continuing to work and delaying benefits until 70, you won't have benefits withheld — and they'll be larger when you do claim them at 70. It's also possible to add more high-earning years to the 35-year benefit calculation used to determine those delayed benefit amounts.

You're focused on guaranteed, inflation‑adjusted income

Social Security benefits increase a little each year due to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), so delaying boosts both the benefit base amount and the check's adjustment for inflation. And while it's true that the COLA hasn't always been much after Medicare premium increases, delaying benefits at least guarantees some inflationary protections. The same can't be said for investments and volatile market-based assets that don't guarantee a baseline income level.

If you think of Social Security delays in this way, they are almost like a larger, inflation-protected annuity from the government that you're paying for with your payroll taxes anyway. You might as well get the most you can in return.

You're single and worried about outliving your money

Much of today's retirement planning advice assumes there's a spouse to collaborate with, but singles also need solid options for thriving in their 80s and 90s. If you may have a longer-than-average life expectancy, delaying to 70 gets you increased expected lifetime benefits to support you even without spousal survival income.

The higher Social Security payments can reduce pressure on your savings and keep you from running out of funds in a longer retirement.

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Bottom line

The premise is simple: Waiting until 70 increases your benefits check, and for some, it's a solid retirement plan for stretching out that nest egg. Signs it could work for you include good health, other income in your 60s, a spouse who could use your survivor benefit, and a need for guaranteed, inflation-protected income in old age.

Even better, the gap years between actual retirement and 70 can be used for strategic Roth conversions or taxable withdrawals, provided you get the right guidance to make it worth your while. However, the decision is personal, complex, and may be best made with the help of a financial planner. There's no reason to guess or make costly assumptions.

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