Social Security: When To Claim, How To Help Maximize, and Common Mistakes To Avoid

For many retirees, Social Security is a major source of guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income for life. Yet the decision about when to start receiving benefits often gets less attention than it deserves. The numbers show what is at stake.

After the 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) takes effect in January 2027, the Social Security Administration (SSA) estimates the average retired worker will receive $2,170 per month, and the average couple with both spouses collecting will receive $3,355.¹ The COLA increases the average monthly benefit by $75,² and it’s the largest increase since 2023.³

Behind those averages is a choice that’s difficult to reverse.

Social Security claiming decisions are among the most consequential ones that you may make in retirement. The claiming decision you make at age 62, 67, or 70 locks in a monthly amount, and that could mean tens of thousands of dollars in additional income — or missed opportunity — over a 20- to 30-year retirement.

For families who have built meaningful wealth, the goal is not simply to maximize Social Security in isolation. It is to coordinate your claiming decision with your broader financial picture: your investment portfolio, your tax strategy, your estate plan, and your spouse’s benefits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates your benefit using a formula based on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation.⁴ The result is your full benefit — the amount you’d receive at full retirement age (FRA). For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67. Claim before that age, and your monthly amount shrinks. Claim after it, up to age 70, and it grows.

See what claiming at age 62, 67, and 70 means

Starting retirement benefits early — at age 62 — reduces the monthly benefits by up to 30% for individuals born in 1960 or later (whose full retirement age is 67), leaving them with only 70% of their full benefit. Waiting until age 70 allows monthly benefits to grow past 100% of the full benefit, reaching 124% of the full retirement amount for those born in 1960 or later, according to the SSA website.

What is the Social Security break-even age?

Your break-even age is the point at which the total amount of Social Security benefits you’d receive by claiming early equals the amount you’d receive by delaying. For most people, this age falls between 78 and 81.

Here’s how it works:

• Claim early: You may receive smaller Social Security checks, but you’ll receive more of them since you’ll start collecting benefits sooner.
• Delay benefits: Your monthly payment may be larger, but you’ll collect fewer checks overall.

When the cumulative totals of those two choices line up, you’ve hit your break-even point.

Break-even math can be a useful starting point, but it has limits. You can’t know your lifespan, but the chance of outliving your savings often makes delaying a sound strategy, especially if you’re in good health or have a family history of living longer. For married couples, the higher earner’s decision often matters more than any individual break-even age, because the survivor generally keeps only the larger of the two benefits.

Know when claiming earlier may make sense

Waiting isn’t right for everyone. Delaying may be especially worth considering if you expect a longer life, you’re still working but don’t need the income, you want to maximize a surviving spouse’s benefit, or you want your retirement investments to last longer. If you need the income to cover essential expenses, have health concerns, or can’t fund the years before benefits begin, claiming earlier may be reasonable. The right strategy depends heavily on your personal considerations and financial needs.

Factor in work income before full retirement age

If you claim before FRA and keep working, the SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above a limit — $25,560 in 2027, up from $24,480 in 2026. In the year you reach FRA, the withholding drops to $1 for every $3 you earn above a higher limit of $67,920 in 2027 ($65,160 in 2026), and only earnings before the month you reach FRA count. When you hit FRA, the SSA recalculates your monthly payment to credit you for any withheld months, increasing your future checks so you can recoup the funds over your lifetime.⁵

Your benefit is based on a formula, and you have more influence over the inputs than you might think. These strategies can help you get more from the benefits you’ve earned.

1. Build a strong earnings record. Because the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses your 35 highest-earning years, working a little longer can replace lower-income years with higher ones. Earnings count up to the taxable maximum, which is $184,500 in 2026 and rises to $192,300 in 2027. Even so, the benefit has a ceiling: The maximum for a worker retiring at full retirement age (FRA) is $4,188 per month in 2027.⁶
2. Delay your claim and plan how to bridge the gap. For each year you wait beyond FRA, up to age 70, your benefit can increase by approximately 8%. Delaying benefits can be an effective way to increase your guaranteed lifetime income. However, having a plan for covering expenses in the meantime is important. Drawing on savings, pension income, or part-time earnings can help bridge the gap while your Social Security benefit continues to grow. For more information, visit the SSA’s Delayed Retirement Credits page.

3. Coordinate your claiming with your spouse. For married couples, Social Security claiming decisions should be coordinated rather than made independently. A spouse may qualify for a benefit of up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse’s full retirement benefit, although claiming before their own FRA permanently reduces that amount. Unlike retirement benefits, spousal benefits do not earn delayed retirement credits by waiting beyond FRA.⁷

   Divorced spouses may also qualify for benefits based on a former spouse’s earnings record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they’re currently unmarried, and they meet other eligibility requirements. In some cases, the former spouse does not even need to have filed for Social Security benefits, provided both parties are at least age 62, and the divorce has been final for at least two years.⁸

   Survivor benefits are another important consideration. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse generally receives the larger of the survivor’s own retirement benefit or the survivor benefit rather than both benefits combined. Eligible surviving spouses can receive up to 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit, depending on their claiming age. Survivor benefits may begin as early as age 60, although claiming before the survivor’s full retirement age results in a reduced payment.⁹

   For this reason, it may make sense for the higher-earning spouse to delay claiming benefits, potentially increasing the benefit available to the surviving spouse. Coordinating these decisions can help couples maximize their retirement income and provide greater financial security for the spouse who lives longer.

4. Plan for taxes on your benefits. Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may be subject to federal income tax. The amount depends on your provisional income: your adjusted gross income plus any nontaxable interest and half of your annual Social Security benefit. For single filers, benefits may be taxed when provisional income exceeds $25,000, and up to 85% may be taxed when it exceeds $34,000. For married couples filing jointly, those thresholds are $32,000 and $44,000.¹⁰

   The $6,000 tax deduction for taxpayers 65 and older, available for tax years 2025 through 2028, can lower the tax you owe.¹¹ But it doesn’t change how much of your benefit is taxable. Coordinating withdrawals from IRAs, Roth accounts, and taxable accounts with your claiming date may help you keep more of each check. A wealth advisor and a tax professional can model your options.

5. Check your earnings record and run your numbers. Your benefit is only as accurate as your earnings record. Log in to your my Social Security account on the SSA website to review your earnings history and see personalized estimates at age 62, your FRA, and age 70 using the SSA benefits estimator. If you spot a missing or incorrect year, report it to SSA.

   The years between retirement and claiming Social Security can be a powerful tax planning window. If you retire at age 62 but delay claiming until age 70, you may have several low-income years to execute Roth conversions at lower tax rates. When you claim at age 70, a larger Social Security benefit plus required minimum distributions could push you into a higher bracket. Front-loading conversions beforehand shifts assets into Roth accounts, and qualified Roth withdrawals may not affect Social Security taxation later.

6. Let inflation work in your favor. Nearly 72 million Social Security beneficiaries will see a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) beginning in January 2027.¹² COLAs are percentage-based, so a larger benefit gets a larger dollar increase. A 3.6% COLA increases a $1,400 monthly benefit by about $50 and a $2,480 monthly benefit by about $89. Over a long retirement, that difference can add up.

Some of the costliest Social Security mistakes come from habits, headlines, and half-remembered rules. Here are seven common mistakes to avoid.

1. Claiming at age 62 because it’s available. Just because you can claim at age 62 doesn’t necessarily mean you should. In 1998, 60% of people claimed at age 62. By 2022, that dropped to 29%, and 61% still claimed before full retirement age (FRA).¹³ Although delaying Social Security results in a higher monthly payment, a recent survey found that only 10% of respondents plan to wait until age 70. The same survey indicated that 44% of respondents expect to file for benefits before they reach FRA — even though they said they understood the trade-offs of claiming early.¹⁴

   This doesn’t mean age 70 is right for everyone, but it suggests many people decide when to claim without fully understanding how it could affect their lifetime benefits.

2. Treating break-even like a bet on dying early. Many people hear “break-even age” and think claiming early is a hedge against dying younger, while waiting is a bet on living longer. A better frame is protection. Delaying raises your guaranteed income in the years when other resources may be running low. Women claim slightly earlier than men on average, even though the average 62-year-old woman lives three years longer than the average 62-year-old man.¹⁵ Break-even math also leaves out survivor benefits and the cost of funding the gap.

3. Overlooking your spouse’s benefits. About one-third of married couples aren’t sure what survivor benefits a spouse would receive.¹⁶ When one spouse earned significantly more, that blind spot can be costly, because the survivor generally keeps only the larger benefit.

4. Claiming early because you fear Social Security will run out. Headlines about Social Security’s finances can make claiming at age 62 seem like the safer choice. The concern isn’t baseless. The 2026 Trustees Report projects that the program’s primary trust fund, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund, could be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032. At that point, incoming payroll taxes would cover about 78% of scheduled benefits, resulting in an across-the-board reduction of roughly 22%.¹⁷ But a depleted trust fund doesn’t mean benefits disappear, and Congress has historically acted to address funding shortfalls.

   Claiming early to avoid a potential cut could cost you more than the cut itself. Claiming at age 62 instead of at your FRA permanently reduces your benefit by as much as 30%.¹⁸ By contrast, delaying until age 70 increases your benefit by about 8% per year after full retirement age.¹⁹ Even if benefits are eventually reduced, a larger starting benefit may leave you with more income than claiming early at a permanently reduced amount. Rather than rushing to claim, review your projected benefits at different ages through your my Social Security account and consider how your claiming decision fits into your broader retirement plan.

5. Assuming Social Security isn’t taxed. Many people assume benefits are tax-free. They’re not. As explained in our article Is Social Security Taxed in 2026? What Retirees Need To Know About New Rules, up to 85% of benefits may be taxable at the federal level when income thresholds are exceeded. And as of 2026, nine states tax Social Security benefits, though exemptions and income limits differ significantly.

   However, a new $6,000 tax deduction for individuals age 65 and older may help retirees reduce taxable income through 2028. The deduction applies per eligible individual, meaning married couples in which both spouses qualify may claim a combined $12,000 deduction.

   If you expect to owe taxes, you can contact the Social Security Administration to request withholding directly from your monthly Social Security payments. The IRS allows four withholding options: 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22%.

6. Thinking withheld benefits are lost for good. Some retirees avoid working because they fear earning too much will permanently cost them Social Security benefits. But benefits withheld because of the earnings limit aren’t lost. As soon as you reach FRA, Social Security recalculates your monthly benefit, giving you credit for the months in which payments were reduced or withheld. And beginning the month you reach FRA, you can earn any amount without reducing your benefits.

   Working can also increase your future benefit if your additional earnings replace a lower-earning year in your highest 35 years.²⁰

7. Relying on Social Security alone. Social Security is an important component of retirement income, but it shouldn’t be your entire retirement strategy. Building a sustainable retirement plan requires coordinating multiple income sources, including Social Security, investment portfolios, retirement accounts, and pensions.

   It’s important to account for taxes, healthcare expenses, inflation, and your anticipated spending needs. A comprehensive financial plan can help you determine how much income you’ll need, when to draw from different sources, and how to make your assets last throughout retirement.

Ready to put this into practice? Start with these steps:

Pulling it together: A coordinated approach

Social Security isn’t one decision. It’s a series of choices about timing, taxes, your spouse, and the rest of your retirement income. Waiting may raise your benefit and help provide greater protection for your spouse, while claiming earlier can make sense depending on your health, cash needs, and other resources.

The earlier you start planning, the more options you may have. A wealth advisor can help you coordinate Social Security with your IRA, Roth, and taxable accounts so your claiming date supports your broader plan.