3 Ways Claiming Social Security at 70 Can Benefit You

Key Points

• Filing for Social Security at 70 results in permanently boosted benefits.

• That could lead to larger survivor benefits for your spouse.

• It could also mean getting more money out of the program's annual cost-of-living adjustments.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

Once you turn 62, you're allowed to sign up for Social Security at any age you think is best. But the filing age you choose will have an impact on the monthly benefit you're able to collect.

Many people choose not to hold out until age 70 to start collecting Social Security because it's hard to wait that long. But here are a few ways that filing for benefits at 70 could work to your advantage in a meaningful way.

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1. You'll get larger monthly checks

Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security will pay you the monthly benefit you're eligible for without a reduction. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

However, Social Security will reward you generously for delaying your claim past full retirement age. For each year you do, until age 70, your monthly benefit gets an 8% boost -- and a permanent one at that. That could put a lot of extra money in your pocket.

As an example, if you're entitled to $2,000 a month from Social Security at 67, waiting until 70 gives you $2,480 a month instead. That's an extra $5,760 per year -- enough to pay for a nice vacation, cover a home improvement project, or just plain give you some extra leeway in your retirement budget.

2. You can set your spouse up for larger survivor benefits

If you're married, it's not just your own needs you have to think about when claiming Social Security. It's also important to consider your spouse's financial needs, especially if you expect them to outlive you and you're the higher earner in your household.

If your spouse outlives you, they'll generally be entitled to survivor benefits from Social Security equal to 100% of your monthly benefit. So, the higher that benefit is, the more income you can leave your spouse with on a monthly basis.

3. Your COLAs will be worth more money

Each year, Social Security benefits are eligible for a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. The purpose of COLAs is to help Social Security recipients maintain their buying power as inflation drives costs up.

Social Security COLAs are granted on a percentage basis. In 2025, for example, Social Security received a 2.5% COLA, which means everyone getting benefits had that raise applied to their monthly check.

But the more money you're eligible for each month from Social Security, the more valuable your COLA is apt to be. Put another way, a 2.5% COLA applied to a $2,000 monthly benefit results in a $50 boost. A 2.5% COLA applied to a $2,480 monthly benefit results in a $62 boost.

It's not necessarily an easy thing to claim Social Security at 70. Doing so may require you to work longer or, if it makes financial sense, dip into your savings for a period of time to cover your expenses. But waiting until age 70 to file for Social Security could benefit you in many ways, so it pays to consider holding off if your circumstances allow for it.

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