Overview
- Researchers including the National Bureau of Economic Research model that more than 90% of workers would raise lifetime income by delaying their own benefit claim to age 70, yet only about 10.2% actually wait.
- The gap between optimal timing and typical behavior produces large shortfalls for households with a reported median reduction in discretionary income of roughly $182,370 when people claim earlier than the models recommend.
- Social Security reduces monthly checks for early filing and raises them through delayed‑retirement credits so a guaranteed, inflation‑adjusted benefit grows the longer a person waits up to age 70.
- A concrete example given in the coverage shows a $2,000 baseline benefit would fall to about $1,400 if claimed at 62 but rise to roughly $2,480 per month if claimed at 70, illustrating how timing changes monthly paychecks.
- An important exception is people whose main entitlement is a spousal benefit, who generally should not delay claiming their own benefit to 70, and individual choices still depend on health, household earnings and longevity expectations with no policy change announced.