Once you turn 62, you can file for Social Security at any point. The reason 62 is such a popular filing age is simple: it is the soonest you can receive benefits. Waiting carries a real financial reward, though. Holding off results in more generous monthly payments, which matters most to retirees who cannot lean heavily on personal savings and expect Social Security to carry the bulk of their retirement income.
You are entitled to your full monthly Social Security benefit once you reach full retirement age (FRA). FRA is 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959, and 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) also rewards patience beyond FRA. For every month you postpone filing between FRA and age 70, Social Security increases your eventual benefit by two-thirds of 1%, which adds up to 8% for each full year you wait. In practical terms, a worker whose FRA is 67 but who holds off until 70 receives an extra 24% on top of their base benefit. For those born in 1960 or later, that translates to a monthly check equal to 124% of what they would have received at FRA.
Those delayed retirement credits cannot accumulate indefinitely, so knowing when to file is essential if you want to avoid leaving money behind.
When waiting no longer pays off
If you are still working at 70, the instinct to keep deferring Social Security can feel logical. It is not. The benefit increase stops entirely at age 70: delayed retirement credits cease accruing, and filing even one month later will not add a single dollar to your monthly payment. The SSA will not compel you to claim at 70, but because no additional growth accumulates after that birthday, collecting at 70 is the rational choice for virtually every worker.
Working, even full-time, does not disqualify you from receiving Social Security. You can draw retirement benefits and a paycheck at the same time. The catch is that the SSA’s earnings test applies if you are younger than FRA. In 2026, workers who are under FRA for the entire year can earn up to $24,480 before the earnings test starts reducing their benefit. Above that threshold, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 earned. That withholding is temporary: once you reach FRA, the SSA recalculates your benefit and credits you back for the months it withheld payments, raising your monthly amount going forward.
At 70, none of that applies. Once you have passed FRA, there is no limit on how much you can earn while collecting benefits. A six-figure paycheck will not reduce a single dollar of your monthly Social Security check.
One detail worth noting separately: if you plan to delay Social Security past age 65, you should still enroll in Medicare within three months of your 65th birthday. Missing that window can raise the cost of Medicare Part B and prescription drug coverage permanently. Delaying Social Security and delaying Medicare enrollment are two entirely separate decisions with different consequences.
It’s important to know the rules
Social Security’s rulebook is thick, and some provisions interact in ways that are easy to miss. Understanding them before you file can make a meaningful difference in lifetime income.
Delaying your claim indefinitely past age 70 is one of the more costly errors you can make, since it means forgoing benefits you have already fully earned. If you have already passed your 70th birthday without signing up, however, not all is lost. Workers who have reached FRA can request that the SSA pay retroactive benefits, though the agency cannot pay back further than six months or earlier than your FRA date. So a worker who is 70 and a half years old and files immediately can collect up to six months of back pay. Wait any longer, and those earlier months are gone permanently.
It is also worth keeping one eye on Social Security’s long-term finances, because the program faces a tightening fiscal picture. According to the 2026 annual Trustees Report, the combined OASDI trust funds are projected to be depleted in the third quarter of 2034; at that point, incoming payroll-tax revenue would cover roughly 83% of scheduled benefits. The retirement-only OASI fund faces a sharper timeline: its reserves are projected to run out in the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than the prior year’s estimate, at which point the program could pay only about 78% of retirement benefits. The 2026 report also revealed that the program’s 75-year actuarial deficit widened by 16%, growing to 4.42% of taxable payroll, a sign that the eventual policy adjustments needed to restore solvency may be larger than previously assumed. These projections give added urgency to locking in your maximum possible benefit before any legislative changes take effect.
Social Security planning involves more moving parts than most people expect, including your health, other income sources, spousal benefits, and life expectancy. A financial advisor who specializes in retirement income can help you build a filing strategy tailored to your specific circumstances.
Editor’s note: This article was updated to reflect the 2026 earnings-test threshold of $24,480 (raised from the 2025 figure of $23,400), and new projections from the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report showing that the OASI retirement-only trust fund is now expected to deplete in Q4 2032 (one quarter earlier than last year’s estimate) with 78% of benefits payable, that the combined OASDI fund remains on track for depletion in Q3 2034 with 83% of benefits payable, and that the program’s 75-year actuarial deficit grew 16% to 4.42% of taxable payroll.
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