Social security of $3,720 per month on offer? When to get it?

What is ideal time to get the social security? Experts often say that the best financial move you can make is to wait until age 70. One calculation people often consider is when they'll "break even" by delaying their benefits. That's the age when the total amount of money they would receive by waiting to claim at age 70 is more than the total amount they would have accumulated if they claimed their benefits earlier. There are many online Social Security calculators, charts and analyses that look at the numbers.

For example: Someone who would receive a $3,000 monthly benefit at the full retirement age of 67 would receive $3,720 per month by waiting until 70. The amount received by waiting until age 70 wouldn't total more than claiming at 67 until 15 years later, when that person turned 82.

Financial planners and others discourage people from viewing Social Security through that lens, because it warps the notion of benefits as lifetime guaranteed income. The risk of outliving your money won't emerge for many retirees until they are in their 90s, and maximizing benefits creates a larger safety net for later in life.


Experts point to the substantial annual increase in your benefit for each year you delay claiming it after you reach what the government calls your full retirement age, either 66 or 67. Add Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment, and waiting till 70 to maximize your payout is the best of all retirement bets.

The amount of money you get from Social Security each month depends on when you start receiving benefits.

If you were born after January 1, 1960, your full retirement age is 67. Wait longer, and your benefit rises by 8 per cent a year until age 70.

But if you claim Social Security "early," or before your full retirement age, your payment is reduced, often drastically. Claiming at 62 results in your payment being slashed by as much as 30 per cent from the full retirement age benefit. The reduction shrinks each year until your full retirement age. Claiming early also means that any income you earn above a set limit results in part of your benefits being temporarily withheld until you reach full retirement age. While there are limited options to withdraw or pause to reset your benefits, you should consider your initial choice to be permanent.