3 Reasons It Pays to Delay Claiming Social Security Benefits
When you retire, your Social Security benefits will be calculated based on the wages you earned during your 35 highest-paid years. But the amount you actually collect each month will also depend heavily on when you claim those benefits.
If you file for Social Security at your full retirement age (FRA) -- which will be either 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on your year of birth -- you'll be able to collect the exact monthly benefit your earnings history officially entitles you to. File earlier than that -- eligibility starts at age 62 -- and you'll be reducing the size of your monthly payments by as much as 30% for life. But if you hold off on filing until you're past your FRA, you'll accrue delayed retirement credits that boost your benefits by 8% a year, up until age 70.
Of course, the downside to delaying benefits is that you'll have to wait longer to collect your money, and you'll get fewer monthly checks. But there are a few compelling reasons to hold off.
Source Fool.com
