When Should You Claim Social Security?

You can begin claiming Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. But for every year you wait past your Full Retirement Age (FRA) — which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later — your monthly benefit grows by approximately 8%. Wait until 70, and you'll receive roughly 24–32% more per month than if you claimed at your FRA, and up to 77% more than if you claimed at 62.

That's a significant difference. On a $2,000/month benefit at FRA, claiming at 62 might yield $1,400/month — while waiting until 70 could yield $2,480/month. Over a 20-year retirement, that gap compounds into real money.

The classic argument for claiming early is simple: "I'll collect more checks." And mathematically, if you claim at 62 and invest every dollar, you might come out ahead — if you die young.

The break-even point for most people is somewhere between ages 78 and 82. If you live past that, waiting to claim almost always wins. If you don't, claiming early may have been the right call.

But here's what the break-even math misses: Social Security is longevity insurance, not just a pension. The real risk it protects against isn't dying too soon — it's living too long. A 65-year-old couple today has roughly a 50% chance that at least one spouse will live past age 90. For that surviving spouse, a higher monthly benefit could be the difference between financial security and financial stress.

For married couples, the claiming decision is rarely just about one person. It's a joint strategy.

When the higher-earning spouse delays claiming, they're not just increasing their own benefit — they're increasing the survivor benefit their spouse will receive if they die first. A surviving spouse is entitled to receive the higher of their own benefit or their deceased spouse's benefit.

This means that if the higher earner claims early and locks in a reduced benefit, the surviving spouse could be stuck with that lower amount for the rest of their life — potentially 20 or 30 years. Delaying the higher earner's claim is often the single most powerful thing a couple can do to protect the surviving spouse's long-term income.

Of course, not everyone can afford to wait. Claiming earlier may genuinely make sense if you have a serious health condition that meaningfully reduces your life expectancy, you've stopped working and have no other income source to bridge the gap, you're in a lower-income household where the monthly cash flow is critical now, or your spouse has a significantly higher benefit and will delay — so the survivor benefit is already protected.

On the other hand, if you're still working between 62 and your FRA, claiming early can actually backfire. Social Security will temporarily reduce your benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual earnings limit ($22,320 in 2024). You'll eventually get that money back — but the complexity and cash flow disruption often isn't worth it.

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefit can be subject to federal income tax, depending on your "combined income" (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefit).

This matters for the claiming decision in two ways. First, if you have significant other income in retirement — from a pension, IRA withdrawals, or investment income — a larger Social Security benefit could push more of it into a taxable range. Second, delaying Social Security while drawing down pre-tax retirement accounts (like a traditional IRA or 401(k)) can actually reduce your lifetime tax burden — a strategy sometimes called "filling the bracket" before Social Security begins.

This is where the decision gets genuinely complex, and where working with a fee-based advisor who can model multiple scenarios pays real dividends.

At Optimus Advisory Group, we work with clients across a wide range of ages and stages — from those still in their 40s building toward retirement to clients well into their 80s and 90s managing what they've built. That said, the majority of our clients are in their 50s and 60s, navigating the critical years just before and after retirement. In our experience, most people in that window claim Social Security earlier than is optimal for their situation — often because of anxiety about "leaving money on the table" or uncertainty about the future of the program.

The data consistently shows that for healthy individuals with average or above-average life expectancy, delaying to at least Full Retirement Age — and often to 70 — produces better lifetime outcomes. The guaranteed 8% annual growth from delayed claiming is difficult to replicate in any investment portfolio, especially on a risk-adjusted basis.

That said, there is no universal right answer. The best claiming strategy depends on your health, your spouse's situation, your other income sources, your tax picture, and your retirement cash flow needs. It's a decision worth modeling carefully — ideally with someone who can run the numbers specific to your situation.