Social Security at 70: When the Math Does and Doesn't Work

A lot of people rush into Social Security at 62 because it's the soonest those retirement benefits become available. And it's easy to see why filing as early as possible is appealing.

But if you want the Social Security checks you're entitled to based on your personal earnings history, you'll need to wait until full retirement age arrives to sign up. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

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There's also the option to delay your Social Security claim past full retirement age if you don't absolutely need the money right away. Each year you wait results in an 8% boost to your monthly checks -- for life.

Now as nice as it would be, you can't get credit for delaying Social Security indefinitely. Once you turn 70, your benefits are no longer eligible for an increase due to waiting.

But if you have a full retirement age of 67 and you claim Social Security at 70, you can increase your monthly checks by 24%. That could make retirement a lot less stressful for you.

Still, claiming Social Security at 70 doesn't always work out from a numbers perspective. And it's important to know when waiting doesn't pay.

The lifetime number isn't always higher

When you think about delaying Social Security, you should really consider the decision not just in terms of your monthly benefits, but your lifetime benefits. And the reason is that by delaying your claim, you're giving up money initially for the promise of larger checks later.

The math could work out in your favor if you end up living a longer life. But if you don't, you could end up denying yourself lifetime Social Security benefits by virtue of sitting tight until 70.

Let's use some actual numbers to better convey the point.

Imagine your full retirement age benefit for Social Security is $2,500. Waiting until 70 to file gives you $3,100 a month instead.

At age 82 and 1/2, you'll have collected $465,000 in Social Security in either scenario -- meaning, that's your lifetime benefit at that point regardless of whether you file at 67 versus 70. But what this also means is that if you don't live until at least 82 and 1/2, you lose out financially by filing at 70.

So let's say you live until 80. At that point, filing for Social Security at 67 puts a total of $390,000 in your pocket. Filing at 70 gives you $372,000.

In that scenario, you don't live long enough to make up for three years of missed benefit payments. And the shorter your lifespan, the less a delayed claim makes sense.

How to make the right call

Of course, the tricky part in all of this is that there's clearly no way to know exactly how long you'll live. But you can use your health and family history to make a more informed filing decision.

If you're struggling with a few health issues at 62 when Social Security first becomes available and your parents passed away in their 70s, both of these things are signs that claiming benefits at 70 may not work out well for you. If you're in reasonable health in your early 60s and have both of your parents alive in their mid-80s, that changes things.

Your marital status might also play a role in your decision. If you're the higher earner in your household and are older than your spouse, delaying Social Security until 70 could put larger survivor benefits in your spouse's pocket if you pass before they do.

But the point overall is to not get too caught up in the idea of boosted monthly checks. While your benefits are guaranteed to increase if you delay your claim past full retirement age, you're by no means guaranteed to end up with more Social Security in total if you make that choice.

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