4 Reasons to Claim Social Security at 70

You can claim Social Security at 62, but many people should wait until 70 instead. Giving up eight years of income seems like a major sacrifice, and, indeed, it can be -- especially if you don't have a lot of extra retirement savings and need to work longer because you delay your retirement benefits.

Still, there is a big payoff for most people if you delay. In fact, here are four key reasons a claim at 70 just makes good sense for many retirees.

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1. To maximize your monthly income

Getting a higher monthly income is one of the best reasons to wait to claim your Social Security benefits.

You get your standard benefit at full retirement age, which is 67. Any claim before that will shrink your Social Security check. But delaying beyond FRA increases your standard benefit by two-thirds of 1% per month. That adds up to an 8% annual benefits increase, or a 24% total boost if you wait from an FRA of 67 until 70.

A benefit totaling around $2,000 at FRA (close to the average benefit for a retired worker) would increase by $480 if you wait until 70. That's $5,760 more per year than claiming at FRA. For retirees who aren't confident they have enough in their retirement plans, an extra $5,760 per year could mean the difference between paying for essentials and constantly struggling.

2. To get higher COLAs

Waiting until 70 to claim benefits will also increase your Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) on a dollar-for-dollar basis, although all retirees get the same percentage increase. COLAs are periodic raises intended to help keep benefits in step with inflation. In 2026, for example, retirees received a 2.8% COLA.

If you'd claimed your $2,000 benefit at 67, you'd have received a cost-of-living adjustment totaling $56 per month. But if you instead waited until 70 and collected a $2,480 benefit, you'd get $69.44. That extra makes a difference, especially if Medicare premiums are deducted from your benefits and they increase.

3. To maximize your odds of getting the most lifetime income

Bigger COLAs and a higher monthly income help in the moment, but what about over the long term? You're giving up years of benefits to claim at 70, so think about whether that's worth it.

You can run a break-even analysis by comparing the higher benefit to the lower one and determining how long you must collect the higher benefit to offset the missed income. For example, missing three years of $2,000 in monthly benefits from 67 to 70 amounts to $72,000. But waiting from 67 to 70 gets you $480 extra per month. At a rate of $480 per month, it takes you 150 months, or 12.5 years, to break even.

While this may seem like a long time, research consistently shows that about 90% of people receive more money from Social Security over their lifetimes by waiting to claim benefits. So if you want to maximize your odds of getting the most retirement income, delaying your claim seems like the way to go.

4. To increase Social Security survivor benefits

Finally, increasing Social Security survivor benefits is another good reason to wait. If you were the higher earner, your spouse should be entitled to survivor benefits based on what you were collecting when you died. If you claimed early, you'd permanently shrink the survivor benefits, leaving your spouse with less to live on.

For all these reasons, claiming Social Security at 70 can often make good sense and is worth considering.

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