01 Nov How much more Social Security will I get at age 70?

Q. I’m thinking of working until 70 before I claim Social Security. I’m 62. How much more, in percentage, will I receive monthly by waiting?
— Retired

A. Delaying your Social Security benefit will indeed make your monthly payments larger.

Here’s how it works.

You are entitled to receive your Full Retirement Benefit (FRB) when you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), said Deva Panambur, a fee-only planner with Sarsi, LLC in West New York.

He said your full retirement age depends on your year of birth. Your FRA is 67 years if you were born in 1960 or later.

The earliest anyone can receive Social Security retirement benefits is at age 62, he said. If someone with an FRA of 67 years applies for retirement benefits at age 62, their benefit will be reduced by 30%.

But if you delay receiving benefits beyond FRA, you will get delayed retirement credits until you are 70 years old, Panambur said.

“Retirement benefits don’t increase if you delay taking it beyond age 70,” he said. “After FRA, for each month you delay receiving benefits, it increases by 2/3 of 1%, or 8% per year. So with an FRA of 67 years, if you wait till you turn 70 before you apply for your retirement benefits, you will receive 24% more.”

“In other words, the amount you receive at age 70 is over 77% more than what you receive at age 62 if your FRA is 67 years,” he said.

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This story was originally published on Nov. 1, 2022.

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