The 1 Reason to Delay Social Security When You Don't Expect to Live a Long Life

You have plenty of choices when it comes to claiming Social Security. And no single choice is universally perfect.

For some people, filing at full retirement age, which is 67 for people born in or after 1960, makes sense. For others, it could make sense to sign up early or accrue delayed retirement credits by waiting until 70 to file.

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The general guidance around claiming Social Security is that if you live an average lifespan, you're likely to break even in terms of lifetime income regardless of when you file.

The logic is that an early claim will reduce your benefits but give you more years of monthly checks. A delayed claim will give you a larger sum each month, but you'll collect fewer individual payments in your lifetime.

People in great health who expect to live well into their late 80s or beyond can often benefit from claiming Social Security on the later side. On the other hand, people with known health issues who do not expect a long lifespan are often told that signing up early could make the most financial sense.

If you claim Social Security at 62 but only live until 73, for example, you'll collect more lifetime income from the program compared to waiting until full retirement age or beyond.

But while that's a good rule of thumb to follow, there's also an exception. And it may apply to you if you're married.

Make sure you're taking care of your spouse's financial needs

If you're the higher earner in your household and your spouse outlives you, they'll be eligible for survivor benefits from Social Security. Those benefits will be the equivalent of what you collected each month. For this reason, it could pay to delay Social Security for larger checks even if you won't necessarily be the one to take advantage of that extra money.

If you file for Social Security at 70, for example, but pass away three years later, you won't get much lifetime income from the program yourself. But if your spouse is 67 at the time of your passing and they live until 95, they'll enjoy 28 years of larger monthly checks.

Those bigger checks could be a lifeline if you and your spouse don't have a lot of assets or savings. And even if you've saved decently, larger benefits could make it easier for your surviving spouse to manage in your absence.

Talk things through so you're on the same page as your spouse

When you're married, you need to constantly consider how your actions impact your spouse, whether it's failing to put your dishes in the sink, forgetting to renew a subscription, or making a financial choice that may not be optimal.

If you claim Social Security early because you don't expect a long lifespan, you could end up leaving your surviving spouse in a serious lurch if your benefit is considerably higher than theirs due to a more robust earnings history. So it's important to think about how your filing age might have an impact on your spouse's long-term financial stability.

At the same time, it's a good idea to talk to your spouse about when to claim Social Security so you're on the same page. If you have decent savings at the household level or a life insurance policy your spouse is the beneficiary of, then larger Social Security checks may not be so critical.

In that case, your spouse may actually encourage you to file for benefits early so you're able to enjoy that money while you're alive, even if their survivor benefit is lower as a result. But you won't know what your spouse is thinking unless you sit down to have that conversation.

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