Basically, if you were born in 1961, for example, your full retirement age is age 67, which brings a slew of benefits, along with one or two risks to the retirement income table.
- At age 67, you'll get 104 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed receiving benefits for 6 months.
- At 70, you'll get 128 percent of the monthly benefit because you delayed getting benefits for 42 months.
Big Benefits Earned By Taking Social Security Around Age 67
Given the vast differences in taking Social Security at age 62, the earliest age you can earn program benefits, or waiting to age 70, finance experts say full retirement age may be the sweet spot retirees are looking for in 2026.1. Hefty Annual Social Security Pay Raise
"Delaying as long as possible is the biggest benefit most people can have,” Evan Mills, a financial advisor at Scholar Advising, told NTD News. “Collecting before full retirement age is really a bet that Congress does nothing about the underfunding problem, and that you're not going to live long enough to regret taking a smaller check.”At full retirement age, you're avoiding that permanent reduction in benefits that comes with claiming early.
“Every single year you delay past full retirement age up until 70, you increase your benefit by 8 percent,” Mills noted. “So waiting also gives you more room for Roth conversions before that income hits, and it gives you a bigger base for cost-of-living adjustments down the road, since Social Security is really one of the only retirement payments that has those built in.”
2. Passing the Test
Taking Social Security at full retirement age not only curbs the reduction that comes with claiming early, but it also helps you avoid a big earnings test.“Many clients are tending to work part-time, no matter their income level, before full retirement age, and waiting to claim they aren’t giving back any benefits,” Patrick Patin, founder and portfolio manager at Great Lakes Private Wealth, told NTD.
3. Know Exactly What You’re Getting
The mechanics of claiming at FRA are fairly simple.“You get 100 percent of your calculated benefit, built on your highest 35 earning years,” Jeff Judge, managing partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners, told NTD News. “You preserve the full baseline for any spousal benefit, up to 50 percent of yours, and you avoid the earnings test that penalizes people who claim early while still working.”
4. Know the Risks
The risks in taking Social Security at full retirement age are real, but they mostly come down to timing.“If you have serious health issues, claiming earlier might produce a better cumulative outcome,” Judge said. “There's also an opportunity cost argument if your investable assets could earn a strong return during the delay.”
Don’t Make This Mistake When Making a Social Security Payout Date
Finance experts say the full retirement age should not be treated as an automatic claiming date; it should be treated as a planning checkpoint rather than the whole story.“The mistake I see all the time is that people look at Social Security in isolation,” James Comblo, a partner at Prosperity Capital Advisors, told NTD. “They ask, “Should I take it at 62, 67, or 70?”
Comblo believes that’s the wrong question and potentially a narrow view of the opportunity. "I would ask: 'How does this decision affect my taxes, my portfolio, my surviving spouse, my ability to gift, and whether my plan actually holds up for 30 years?'" he noted
For some people, waiting until full retirement age makes total sense because it avoids locking in a permanent reduction. “But never look at that decision by itself,” Comblo added. “Social Security needs to fit into the broader income plan. Unfortunately, many people, and even some advisors, treat it like a separate decision to be dealt with later.”