Part of: Retirement Income Planning
Social Security Claiming Considerations
When to claim Social Security is one of the more consequential retirement-income decisions, since the age you claim affects your monthly benefit amount for the rest of your life. This is an overview of common considerations, not a recommendation for any specific claiming age.
How claiming age affects your benefit
Claiming before your full retirement age generally reduces your monthly benefit; delaying past full retirement age (up to age 70) generally increases it. As of 2026, full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later; delaying past full retirement age, up to age 70, generally increases the benefit by about 8% per year of delay. The math behind any specific 'break-even' age depends on assumptions about longevity and other income.
Factors beyond the math
Health and family longevity, whether you're still working, spousal and survivor benefit considerations, and your other available income sources can all factor into a claiming decision alongside the benefit-amount math.
Spousal and survivor considerations
For married couples, claiming decisions can affect not just your own benefit but a surviving spouse's benefit later on. This is an area where coordinating both spouses' decisions together, rather than separately, is often worthwhile.
Key takeaways
- Claiming age directly affects your monthly benefit amount for life.
- Health, other income, and spousal considerations matter alongside the benefit-amount math.
- Married couples generally benefit from considering both spouses' claiming decisions together.
More in this series
- Retirement Income Planning: A Framework for Coordinating Your Income Sources
- Sequence of Returns Risk in Retirement