The Number 1 Guaranteed Reason Financial Advisors Say Delaying Social Security to 67 Beats Taking It at 62

Claiming Social Security at 62 instead of waiting for full retirement age of 67 permanently lowers the monthly benefit for life. Between 62 and full retirement age, benefits increase for each year delayed, with an estimated 8% to 10% annual increase in the monthly check. Claiming early is framed as betting a retirement income floor against a return that is difficult to match with low-risk investments. The reduction is described as about 6.7% for each year claimed before full retirement age. After reaching full retirement age, delayed retirement credits continue accruing until age 70, further increasing benefits. The strategy emphasizes capturing guaranteed compounding by not claiming early.

"Between 62, the earliest you can take it unless you're a widow or widower, between 62 and full retirement age, which is 67 now, those 5 years, your benefit, what's paid to you, is increasing by 8% to 10% a year, guaranteed, right?"

"If you claim at 62, you are betting your retirement income floor against a benchmark almost no risk-free investment can clear. Get it wrong and you lock in a smaller monthly check for the rest of your life, and a smaller survivor check for your spouse."

"Social Security's benefit formula permanently reduces your monthly check if you file before full retirement age of 67 and raises it if you wait. For each year a person claims prior to the full retirement age, benefits are reduced by about 6.7%. Once you pass full retirement age, delayed retirement credits keep accruing until age 70."

"Stack those together and you get what Lembcke describes: a guaranteed 8% to 10% annual increase in your monthly benefit for every year you wait from 62 to 67. No equity index gives you that return without risk. No bond ladder gives you that return at all. In my view, it is one of the few genuinely risk-free compounding rates available to an American household, and the only way to capture it is to not claim."

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