Delaying Social Security benefits until 70 is often touted as a strategy to maximize lifetime income.
However, this path comes with trade-offs, including potentially dying earlier, needing to draw more heavily on your retirement savings while you wait, and the risk of future benefit cuts.
These concerns might explain why few people opt to wait for a bigger check. While economists generally recommend waiting, the reality is that most Americans don’t.
In 2022, about 10% of retirees claimed Social Security at age 70, 29% at 62 and 61% before reaching full retirement age. (1)
Here’s what you need to know about the perks and the pitfalls.
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The upside: Bigger checks, longevity insurance
When you delay claiming past your full retirement age (FRA), your Social Security benefits grow through “delayed retirement credits.”
For each full year you hold off after reaching this age, which is determined based on the year you were born and is fixed at 67 for those born in 1960 or later, 8% is added to your benefit until you turn 70.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), a lifetime high earner retiring in 2025 could expect to receive $2,277 a month more if they retire at 70 instead of 62, which is the earliest age the benefits become available. (2) And they could expect $1,090 more if they retire at 70 instead of the FRA.
Social Security is inflation-protected and guaranteed by the government, so delaying can serve as insurance against outliving your assets.
Read More: Vanguard reveals what could be coming for U.S. stocks, and it’s raising alarm bells for retirees. Here’s why and how to protect yourself
The hidden risks: What conventional advice overlooks
Life expectancy: The argument for delaying assumes you have a reasonable life expectancy to recoup the “lost” benefits from earlier years.
Dying in your early 70s could render the delay a net loss; living into your 90s might make it worthwhile. For those with shorter life expectancies due to health issues, waiting could be risky.
Survivors, such as spouses, receive a portion of the benefit, but not necessarily all of it. The exact share depends on your delayed retirement credits and primary insured amount. And if you die beforehand, the credits you would have earned later go unused.
Sequence-of-returns and portfolio depletion: To sustain cash flow while waiting, you may need to draw more heavily from your retirement portfolio in the early years. If the markets stumble in that period, withdrawals will more aggressively deplete assets and reduce your capacity to benefit later from higher Social Security checks. This is known as the sequence of returns risk.
The effective cost of delayed claiming isn’t just lost payments — it’s increased stress on your investment cushion. A market crash around that time can lead to a permanently smaller nest egg.
Lost flexibility: Once you trigger your Social Security benefit, you get a reliable income stream. That safety may free you from worrying about depleting your investments to the extent that you don’t use enough of the money you saved hard for.
Studies show that retirees are more likely to spend guaranteed income, such as Social Security, than to withdraw from their portfolios.
According to the Retirement Income Institute, retirees spend about 80% of their guaranteed lifetime income, but only about half of their other income. (3) Thus, by delaying, you may underspend even when you can afford to enjoy retirement.
Benefit reductions in case of insolvency or reforms: Social Security’s long-term finances are under strain. Without reforms, the SSA predicts it may only be able to pay 77% of scheduled benefits for retirees, their families and survivors by 2033. (4)
If structural reforms cut future benefits, the value of delaying could erode. You don’t just risk under-utilization, but also shrinking credit for that waiting period.
When delaying makes sense — and when it doesn’t
Delaying until 70 can be rational if you have a substantial financial cushion, are in good health (or come from a family with long lifespans) and your portfolio is well-diversified.
A good tip is to run scenarios. Compare the value of taking payments earlier vs. the potentially larger checks later.
Delaying Social Security is a high-stakes bet on your health, the markets and policy. It can pay off handsomely, but it can also backfire. Make sure you understand what’s truly at risk before leaning into it.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Bipartisan Policy Center (1); Social Security Administration (SSA) (2); Retirement Income Institute (3); Social Security Administration (4).
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.