The Single Social Security Move That Could Add $100s to Your Monthly Check

When you claim Social Security is one of the most important retirement decisions you'll make. File early and you lock in a smaller check for life. Wait and your monthly benefit grows. Plus, every future cost-of-living increase (COLA) applies to that bigger number.

For solo retirees or couples counting on Social Security as the base of their plan, getting this one decision right can mean hundreds more each month for decades. It's all about creating a plan to stretch your retirement dollars further.

How delayed retirement credits work

Once you reach your full retirement age (FRA), every month you delay up to age 70 earns delayed retirement credits (DRCs) that increase your benefit by ⅔ of one percent per month, or about 8% per year. Credits stop at 70, so there's no advantage to waiting beyond that. 

For people born in 1960 or later, FRA is age 67, and for some older cohorts, it's 66. That means today's near-retirees can add up to 24% to their monthly check if their FRA is 67 and they delay until 70, or 32% if their FRA is 66.

What "$100s more per month" looks like

Concrete numbers make the impact obvious. Imagine your primary insurance amount (PIA) is $2,000 per month. If your FRA is 67, waiting two years until age 69 increases your benefit by about 16% to $2,320. That is $320 more per month, or $3,840 more per year.

If you wait the full three years until you reach 70, your benefit is about 24% higher at $2,480. This gives you an additional $480 per month, or an extra $5,760 per year, before counting any COLAs.

If you're in the older cohort with an FRA of 66, waiting four years to 70 means roughly a 32% increase, which equates to an additional $640 per month, or $7,680 per year. 

Because COLAs are percentage increases, a larger starting check means larger dollar raises. For 2025, for example, the COLA was 2.5%, and that 2.5% applies to whatever monthly amount you've earned by the time you claim.

Who is most likely to benefit from waiting?

Healthy retirees with longer life expectancy are natural candidates to delay because they'll collect the higher payment for longer. Higher earners also tend to benefit by waiting.

A larger benefit supports spending in later life and protects a spouse if you die first. That's because survivor benefits are generally based on 100% of the deceased worker's benefit, including any delayed retirement credits the worker earned, so the higher earner's decision can raise the survivor's income for life.

If you're still working past FRA, delaying is often easier to pull off because the earnings limit goes away the month you reach FRA. That means your paycheck can cover expenses while credits keep accruing until age 70.

Trade-offs you should weigh first

Delaying isn't automatic. You'll collect for fewer months, so your personal break-even depends on health, longevity expectations, taxes, and what you'd otherwise do with earlier payments. You also need a plan to cover the years between FRA and 70, whether that's part-time work, a modest draw from savings, trimming housing costs, or some combination of those.

Medicare timing is a separate decision. Even if you delay Social Security, most people should enroll in Medicare at 65 unless they have qualifying employer coverage to avoid potential late-enrollment penalties. Thankfully, though, there's no earnings limit after FRA, so if you do keep working, your wages won't reduce benefits once you've passed that milestone.

How to make waiting doable

A little planning ensures you can afford to wait without struggling. Start by mapping your cash needs from now until age 70. If you're already past FRA and still working, your earnings won't reduce benefits, which makes funding the gap simpler.

If you're not working, consider drawing a small, planned amount from savings while you build those credits, or reduce fixed expenses like housing, insurance, and utilities, so the gap you must cover is smaller.

To get personalized projections, run your own numbers with SSA's calculators and compare early and late claiming percentages, estimate benefits at different ages, and see how earnings affect results. If you're married, model a strategy where the higher earner delays to age 70 to raise both lifetime income and survivor benefits. A fee-only planner can sanity-check your plan and help you coordinate investments, taxes, and Medicare with your claiming age.

Bottom line

Delaying Social Security beyond full retirement age is a smart retirement move that guarantees a bigger monthly check. And, as we've seen in our examples, that bump equates to hundreds of dollars more in your pocket each month, for life.

The credits accrue at about 8% per year and stop at age 70, so there's no reason to wait beyond that point. If your health outlook is solid and you can bridge the income gap for a few years, waiting can raise your own benefit and a future survivor's check, too.