Overview
- Waiting until 70 can raise monthly checks via delayed retirement credits of roughly 8% per year, up to about a 32% increase.
- A planner notes the break‑even for delaying to 70 versus claiming earlier often lands around age 81–82, which many may not reach.
- For couples, an early death can cut household benefits, and higher Medicare IRMAA tiers may further erode any expected advantage.
- Claiming before full retirement age permanently reduces benefits and may trigger withholding if work earnings exceed the 2025 limit of $23,400.
- Opportunity costs from deferring payments, plus options like six months of retroactive benefits and voluntary suspension, support individualized, household‑level strategies.