Most people have a plan for retirement. The problem is that their plan and the math don’t always agree. You work for decades, pay into the system every paycheck, and then when the moment finally arrives to collect, you face one of the most consequential financial decisions of your life – and most people make it without fully understanding the cost.
Social Security might feel like a straightforward reward for a lifetime of work, but the rules around when you claim are anything but simple. The timing of that decision ripples through your finances for the rest of your life. And right now, new research shows that the overwhelming majority of Americans are planning to make that call in a way that could leave serious money on the table.
Getting good social security advice before you file is one of the most practical things any pre-retiree can do. But the data suggests most people aren’t acting on it, even when they know it’s available.
The Number That Should Stop You in Your Tracks
Full retirement age, or FRA, is the age at which you’re entitled to claim 100% of your Social Security benefit. For most of the program’s history, that was 65, but it has gradually risen to 67 due to changes Congress enacted in 1983. For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is now 67.
That’s the baseline. Claim before 67 and your monthly check shrinks permanently. Claim after, and it grows. The question of when is where most people go wrong.
Claiming Social Security at 62 reduces your monthly benefit by as much as 30% compared to your full retirement age. Your full retirement age is the point at which you’re eligible to receive 100% of your benefit amount. That reduction doesn’t correct itself later. It’s locked in for good.
On the other end, waiting beyond full retirement age increases your benefit by about 8% per year until age 70. Delaying until age 70 can increase your monthly Social Security payments by up to 24% compared to claiming at full retirement age.
The difference between claiming as early as possible and waiting as long as possible is not trivial. In 2026, the difference between the maximum benefit for someone who retires early at 62 versus waiting until 70 is $2,212 per month, with the maximum sitting at $5,181 at age 70 versus $2,969 at age 62, according to a 2026 Kiplinger analysis of SSA data. Over years of retirement, that adds up fast.
Nine in Ten Americans Are Ignoring This Social Security Advice
According to the Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey, conducted by 8 Acre Perspective among 1,500 US investors nationwide between March 25 and April 17, 2025, nine in 10 non-retired Americans plan to forgo waiting until age 70 to claim their maximum monthly benefit, and just 10% plan to hold out that long. The survey, published directly by Schroders, also found that 44% of non-retirees plan to file before reaching the full retirement age of 67.
What makes this striking is that most people actually understand the tradeoff. About 70% of Americans report that they know waiting longer to claim Social Security would increase their monthly payments. The gap isn’t ignorance. It’s something else – a combination of financial pressure, skepticism, and a calculation that often feels more immediate than it is long-term.
What Early Claiming Actually Costs
The foregone income from claiming too soon is staggering when you look at it across a full retirement. Claiming at age 62 represents a loss of 43.5%, or $2,212 per month compared to waiting until 70 – a figure derived from SSA data reported by Kiplinger. Multiplied across years of retirement, the total lifetime gap in payments can be substantial.
And yet that figure alone doesn’t seem to be changing behavior. Part of the reason is that the math only works in your favor if you live long enough to benefit from the higher monthly check. This is what’s called the “break-even” age.
For someone claiming at 62 versus waiting until 70, the break-even age is roughly in the late 70s to early 80s. For many people, the break-even point falls in the late 70s or early 80s, and if you expect to live beyond that point, waiting to claim may result in the maximum benefit, according to a guide from Charles Schwab citing SSA data. If you have health concerns or a shorter life expectancy, claiming earlier may result in higher total lifetime benefits.
Here’s why that matters for most people: according to the Social Security Administration, the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old is about 84 for men and 87 for women, and for married couples, there’s a strong likelihood that one spouse will live into their 90s. For most people, the break-even age isn’t a long shot. It’s well within the range of a typical retirement.
If you’re looking to understand more ways to maximize what you’re owed, this piece on the Social Security trick most people miss covers a strategy that can add real money to your monthly benefit without any major life changes.
Why People Claim Early Anyway
The reasons are real and worth taking seriously. This is not just a case of people being short-sighted with money. Many workers need the income generated by Social Security to meet their expenses immediately upon retiring. For a large portion of the population, waiting until 70 simply isn’t an option.
According to the 2025 Goldman Sachs Asset Management Retirement Survey and Insights Report, about 40% of Americans now report having no spare savings and living paycheck to paycheck, up from 31% in 1997. Of that group, about 74% say other, more pressing costs are limiting their ability to save for retirement. Goldman Sachs projects that the share of those struggling to make ends meet could rise to 55% by 2033. The full report is available from Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
When you’re stretched thin financially, the idea of waiting another eight years to collect Social Security benefits, regardless of the math, can feel impossible. Life expectancy plays a key role in this decision: the longer you live, the more you may benefit from waiting to claim. But workers dealing with chronic health conditions or physically demanding jobs don’t always have the luxury of betting on a long life.
Health concerns drive early claiming too. It often takes 12 to 14 years to reach the break-even point. If you have serious health concerns or a family history of shorter life expectancy, you may not benefit from waiting. For those individuals, an early claim can be the smarter financial move, not the reckless one.
A Knowledge Gap That Makes It Worse
Even with all of this, a striking number of Americans don’t have a clear picture of how Social Security fits into their retirement at all.
According to the 2025 Annual Retirement Study from the Allianz Center for the Future of Retirement, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, the majority of Americans – 55% – admit they don’t know much about Social Security or how it will fit into their retirement plan. The full study findings are published on Allianz Life’s website. The survey was conducted in January and February 2025 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 respondents aged 25 and older.
That lack of clarity has consequences. About 21% of Americans believe Social Security will provide all the retirement income they need in retirement. But Social Security replaces only about 40% of a worker’s annual pre-retirement earnings, according to the Social Security Administration. If you’re counting on it to cover everything, you’re planning around a number that’s roughly half of what you might actually need.
That gap also shows up in broader anxiety about the program’s future. Nearly 9 in 10 non-retired Americans – 87% – are at least slightly concerned about not knowing how to generate income in retirement, and over half are concerned or very concerned about outliving their assets.
That anxiety is understandable, but reacting to it by claiming benefits before you’re financially ready can lock in exactly the kind of income shortfall people are afraid of.
The Spouse Factor Most People Overlook
There’s another dimension to the timing question that doesn’t get nearly enough attention: what happens to your spouse after you’re gone. If you retire sometime between your full retirement age and age 70, you earn a delayed retirement credit on your own benefit. The higher baseline lasts for the rest of your retirement and serves as the basis for future increases linked to inflation.
But it also determines survivor benefits. If you’re married, your spouse’s age, health, and earnings history may affect when you claim, especially if one spouse is the higher earner. When the higher-earning spouse claims early and locks in a reduced benefit, the surviving spouse can be left with a significantly smaller check for the rest of their life.
This is a dimension that many couples never factor in when they’re deciding when to file. The claiming decision isn’t just about you. It’s about the household.
Read More: Social Security Trust Fund Could Run Dry in 2032 – Here’s What That Means for You
What to Do Now
The advice to wait until 70 is genuinely good for most people, but it’s not universally right. Before you decide when to file, there are a few things worth knowing clearly.
First, understand what Social Security can and can’t do. Social Security is not a luxury supplement. For the vast majority of older Americans, it is the financial floor that prevents poverty. But that floor covers only about 40% of your pre-retirement income. If you can afford to wait, holding off on Social Security can increase your monthly income and provide more financial security over a long retirement. Building other income sources before you retire, whether from savings, a 401(k), or part-time work, is what makes waiting genuinely viable.
Second, run your own numbers using the SSA’s tools. You can estimate your Social Security benefits by creating a My Social Security account through the SSA’s website and using their benefits calculator, which accounts for your earnings history and expected future earnings to estimate benefits at ages 62, 67, and 70. Seeing your actual projected dollar amounts changes the conversation from abstract to concrete.
Third, factor in your health and your household honestly. If your health is strong and you don’t need the income right away, the math strongly favors patience. If your health is uncertain or your financial position demands income now, an earlier claim may be the practical call. Neither choice is inherently wrong; what’s wrong is making it without doing the math first.
The social security advice that most Americans are skipping isn’t complicated. Wait if you can. Know what you’re giving up if you can’t. And don’t mistake a benefit you’re entitled to for a complete retirement plan.
Disclaimer: This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional financial advice, investment advice, tax advice, or legal advice, and is provided for informational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of a qualified financial advisor, accountant, or other licensed professional regarding your personal financial situation or investment decisions. Do not make financial, investment, or tax decisions based solely on information presented here. Past performance is not indicative of future results, and all investments carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.
Read More: 9 Real Ways to Increase Your Social Security Benefits