These 3 Questions Will Help You Decide When to Claim Social Security

As your retirement gets closer, you might have to make some tough decisions, such as whether to downsize your home or whether to relocate to a warmer or cheaper part of the country.

Another tough choice you might have to make relates to Social Security — specifically, when to take benefits. And you should know that your filing age will determine what monthly benefit you get.

Once you turn 62, you can sign up for Social Security at any time. But if you don’t wait until full retirement age (FRA) to claim Social Security, your monthly benefits will be reduced. FRA is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later.

There’s also the option to delay Social Security past FRA for boosted benefits. This perk runs out at age 70. But if you’re able to wait that long, you could be looking at larger monthly paychecks for life.

If you’re torn over the decision, these three questions could help you figure out your ideal Social Security filing age.

1. Am I able to continue working?

You’re allowed to work and collect Social Security at the same time. And once you reach FRA, your earnings from your job won’t have a negative impact on your benefits (whereas prior to FRA, too much earnings from a job could result in withheld benefits).

But if you’re able to continue working, you may not need the money from Social Security to cover your expenses. So in that case, you may want to hold off to lock in a larger monthly benefit for life.

Additionally, if you’re working but haven’t gotten to FRA, you risk withheld benefits anyway if you make too much money. Why take that risk and lower your monthly benefits at the same time?

2. How much savings do I have?

If you have a very large nest egg, then it takes a lot of pressure off of your Social Security benefits. So in that case, you may decide to file for benefits early and get your money sooner.

If a hit to your monthly benefits won’t render you unable to pay the bills, then you might enjoy having extra income early on in retirement, when you perhaps have more energy to do meaningful things with that money.

Of course, you could also tell yourself that if you have a lot of savings, you can dip in for a while to cover your needs and delay Social Security past FRA for permanently boosted benefits. It could really go either way.

3. Is my health in good shape?

If your health is in great shape, there’s a decent chance you’ll live a pretty long life. That’s a good thing on the one hand, but it means you might need your savings to last longer. And you may want to delay Social Security if you expect to live well into your 80s or 90s so you’re guaranteed larger monthly checks even as your savings start to dwindle.

Conversely, if your health is in not-so-great shape, you may want to claim Social Security ahead of FRA. Doing so will lower your benefits on a monthly basis. But on a lifetime basis, you might come away with more money.

What you should really do here is calculate your break-even age — meaning, the age at which you’d get the same lifetime Social Security benefit under different filing scenarios. And if you’re not sure how to do that on your own, you may want to consult a financial advisor for help.

A financial advisor can also discuss different Social Security filing strategies with you so that you’re able to approach your decision with more information and confidence.

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