Waiting until 70 to claim Social Security maximizes lifetime income for roughly 90% of retirees, with the median household losing $182,370 by claiming earlier.
Single retirees in poor health unlikely to reach their 80s should claim early, since delaying risks collecting little or no benefits before death.
Spousal benefit claimants earn no delayed retirement credits past full retirement age, making early claims pointless and potentially costly to delay.
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If you've ever read any advice about claiming Social Security, you have probably heard that you are supposed to wait to claim your benefits. In fact, there have been multiple research studies showing that a claim at age 70 maximizes your chances of getting the most lifetime income and is the right choice for around 90% of retirees.
But 90% is not 100%. There are some circumstances when you should not wait to claim Social Security. Here are a few of them.
First, it's worth taking a quick look at why waiting to claim Social Security is usually the right choice. The reason is a simple one: People are living longer.
When Social Security was created, a system of early filing penalties and delayed retirement credits was put into place that was supposed to result in seniors getting around the same amount of benefits no matter what age they claimed Social Security. Someone who claimed at 62 would get more checks, but each would be smaller, and someone who claimed at 70 would get bigger checks but would not get as many.
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This system is still in place, but now people live longer than they did when it was created. As a result, more people live long enough that if they delay a Social Security claim until 70, they will do better than break even for the benefits they passed up by not claiming as soon as they became eligible.
A financial advisor can help you to determine if waiting actually is the best move or if an earlier claim makes sense, but odds are good that if you are in any of these situations, delaying Social Security until 70 simply isn't the right choice for you.
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Originally reported by Yahoo Finance.