Social Security is a big deal, helping to support almost 68 million Americans, with its benefits making up roughly 30% of the income of folks over 65. Even more sobering are these details from the Social Security Administration: "Among Social Security beneficiaries age 65 and older, 12% of men and 15% of women rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income."
Clearly, Social Security benefits are likely to be very important, if not critical, to most of us. It's smart then to try to maximize your Social Security benefits, and picking the best time to claim Social Security is a key way to do so. You can start as early as age 62, but that will result in shrunken checks (though many more of them), or you can delay until age 70, with each year you delay beyond your full retirement age (66 or 67 for most of us) boosting your benefits by about 8%.
Image source: Getty Images.
The table below is arguably the most important Social Security table, showing how much of your full benefits you'll receive depending on when you claim your benefits:
|
Start Collecting at: |
Full Retirement Age of 66 |
Full Retirement Age of 67 |
|---|---|---|
|
62 |
75% |
70% |
|
63 |
80% |
75% |
|
64 |
86.7% |
80% |
|
65 |
93.3% |
86.7% |
|
66 |
100% |
93.3% |
|
67 |
108% |
100% |
|
68 |
116% |
108% |
|
69 |
124% |
116% |
|
70 |
132% |
124% |
Data source: Social Security Administration.
For millions of us, it's best to aim to delay until age 70, to beef up our benefits. But if you simply need income as soon as possible, or your health is quite poor, or many relatives have lived shorter-than-average lives, it can be perfectly sensible to claim your benefits early.
Think through your Social Security decisions carefully, and coordinate them with your spouse, if you're married.
