The One Social Security Decision That Can Add Hundreds to Your Monthly Check

Most people claim Social Security the moment they can or as soon as they hit full retirement age (FRA). It feels like the safe, logical move, but that choice often locks in a smaller check for life. If you hold off past FRA, your benefit grows a little every month, and those increases can add up to hundreds more in your monthly payment for as long as you receive it.

Here's how the timing rules work and why starting later can help you avoid running out of money in retirement.

How delaying Social Security can boost your benefit

Social Security offers delayed retirement credits as a financial reward for putting off claiming your benefits. Once you hit your full retirement age (at either 66 or 67 for retirees today), your benefit usually grows for every month you hold off. The rate is about two-thirds of 1% per month, or roughly 8% a year.

These delayed retirement credits stop accruing once you reach 70, so there's no extra gain from waiting beyond that. Between FRA and 70, each month you delay raises the check you'll receive for life.

Here's what that looks like in dollars:

• If your FRA benefit at 67 is $2,000, claiming at 70 can boost it by about 24% (3 years × ~8% per year) to roughly $2,480, an extra $480 each month.
• If your FRA benefit is $1,500, waiting to 70 can raise it to roughly $1,860, about $360 more per month.
• If your FRA is 66, four years of delay to 70 adds about 32%. A $2,000 benefit becomes roughly $2,640, about $640 more every month.

These are permanent increases. Once you start at the higher amount, you keep that larger payment for life, with future cost-of-living adjustments added on top.

Who benefits most from waiting

If you're in good health and have a family history of longevity, you are a prime candidate to benefit from waiting. The longer you expect to live, the more years you'll enjoy those higher monthly checks, and the more total dollars you'll likely collect by delaying.

Social Security aims to break even around average life expectancy. That means many people get roughly the same lifetime total whether they claim early or late. But if you live longer than average, waiting usually gives you more money overall.

Couples also have an extra reason to consider patience. This is because when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse is eligible to claim the higher of the two spouses' benefits. If you're the higher earner and you wait to claim, you lock in a larger check that can later become your spouse's survivor benefit.

A surviving widow or widower can collect up to 100% of what the late spouse was entitled to, so if you wait and lock in a larger check, your spouse may benefit from that higher amount for life. In short, waiting can act like insurance for your partner, especially if one of you is likely to outlive the other.

Working into your mid-to-late 60s is another case where patience helps. For one, you likely don't need the benefit yet if you have a paycheck coming in. Also, by waiting, you avoid adding Social Security to your taxable income while you're in a higher tax bracket from work. Holding off lets your future payment grow while potentially keeping today's tax bill lower.

Key trade-offs to consider

The flip side of a bigger monthly check is that you'll collect benefits for fewer years. By waiting, you're essentially trading several years of payments in your 60s for larger payments in your 70s, 80s, and beyond. You need to live long enough for the higher monthly amounts to make up for those checks you passed up.

You may also need an income bridge. If you stop work at 65 or 66 and plan to claim at 70, you'll need cash for the years in between. That could mean drawing savings, using a pension, or picking up part-time work. If you don't have other resources, waiting may not be realistic.

Also, consider that Social Security can be taxable based on your "combined income." For individuals, some benefits become taxable above $25,000, and up to 85% can be taxable above $34,000. For married couples filing jointly, the thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000. Good planning can minimize the tax bite, but it's a factor to weigh in your decision.

Bottom line

Postponing your claim can turn time into a larger check for every month you wait after full retirement age, up to 70. It isn't right for everyone, but you can make it easier with part-time work, modest withdrawals from savings, and a tighter budget.

For many people, delaying is one of the simplest ways to raise guaranteed lifetime income from Social Security. Still, the best choice is personal. Weigh your health, cash-flow needs, taxes, and goals, then pick the timing that helps you maximize your senior benefits.

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