If You’re in This Category, Do Not Claim Social Security at 70

Many seniors opt to file for Social Security at 62. The reason is that it’s the earliest age to sign up for benefits.

Age 70, on the other hand, is not a particularly common time to claim Social Security. Most seniors don’t want to wait that long to get their hands on their money.

However, there’s a huge upside to claiming Social Security at age 70. Doing so means you can lock in a larger monthly benefit. That’s because each year you delay your claim beyond full retirement age (which is 67 for those born in 1960 or later) boosts your monthly benefits by 8% — for life.

It can make sense to claim Social Security at age 70 when you’re nearing retirement with very little savings. That’s because a more generous monthly benefit can help make up for a smaller nest egg.

But certain people should not claim Social Security at 70. If you fall into one key category, you may actually want to file for benefits early instead of late.

When you’re in poor health

It’s not a given that if you’re in poor health in your early 60s, that you’ll pass away at a young age. But if your health isn’t good, your chances of living a long life are reduced. And that’s a good reason to claim Social Security as early as possible instead of as late as possible.

It’s true that signing up for Social Security at 70 means locking in a larger monthly benefit. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get a bigger lifetime payout.

If you don’t expect to live past your early or mid-70s, then it could pay to claim Social Security early for the most lifetime income. It’s really only if you expect to live well into your 80s or beyond that delaying Social Security until age 70 makes sense from a lifetime income perspective.

Now the tricky thing is that nobody has a crystal ball, so it’s impossible to predict how long you’ll live. And it’s true that you could start off retirement with great health only to have it deteriorate unexpectedly.

But if you’re starting off with poor health, it’s a sign that you don’t want to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security. Doing so might leave you with a lot less money than you could’ve gotten by filing earlier.

Ask a financial advisor for help

The decision to claim Social Security is a gigantic one. But it’s also one you don’t have to tackle alone. And if you’re not sure when to claim Social Security, it’s a good idea to consult a qualified financial advisor.

An advisor can take all of your circumstances into account, including your health, your expenses, your savings, and your goals, to help you land on a Social Security filing age that makes sense for you. A financial advisor can also help you run the numbers so you can see what monthly benefit you might be looking at depending on when you sign up.

Just as importantly, though, they’ll show you your break-even age so you’ll know whether it makes sense to delay Social Security versus file early or right on time.

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