The Claiming Decision Is Permanent. Make It With the Math.
Claim at 62 and your check is about 30% smaller for life; wait to 70 and it grows roughly 8% a year past full retirement age (SSA.gov). Between those two poles sits a six-figure swing for many households — and one chance to get it right.
Why does claiming age matter so much?
Because the adjustment is permanent and it compounds. Your benefit at Full Retirement Age (67 for anyone born in 1960 or later) is the baseline: claim at 62 and it's cut by about 30% for life; delay past FRA and it grows by roughly 8% per year until 70 (SSA.gov). Every future cost-of-living adjustment then applies to whichever base you locked in.
What does an RSSA® analysis actually look at?
Your real earnings record, both spouses' benefit entitlements, spousal and survivor interactions, the earnings test if you're still working, taxation of benefits, and how claiming timing coordinates with your portfolio withdrawals and Medicare IRMAA exposure. The output is a year-by-year comparison of claiming strategies for your household — not a rule of thumb.
Why do couples get this wrong on their own?
Because the biggest lever is invisible: survivor benefits. When the higher earner claims early, they don't just shrink their own check — they shrink the benefit their spouse may live on for 20+ years. Break-even calculators that treat each spouse separately miss the entire point.
How does this connect to Medicare and IRMAA?
Income timing is the thread. Roth conversions and withdrawal strategy affect your MAGI, which drives IRMAA surcharges on Medicare premiums two years later — for 2026, generally starting above $109,000 MAGI for individual filers (SSA.gov). Claiming, withdrawals and Medicare are one plan, and we build them together — alongside your financial advisor, not around them.
Social Security FAQ
How much smaller is my check if I claim at 62?
With a Full Retirement Age of 67 (born 1960 or later), claiming at 62 permanently reduces your benefit by about 30% (source: SSA.gov). That reduction never goes away.
How much do I gain by waiting until 70?
Delayed retirement credits add roughly 8% per year between Full Retirement Age and 70 (SSA.gov) — about 24% more than your FRA amount, and every future COLA compounds on the larger base.
Does my claiming age affect my spouse?
Significantly. Survivor benefits are based on the higher earner's record — when the higher earner delays, they raise the check the surviving spouse may live on for decades. Claiming is a household decision, not an individual one.
Is an RSSA® analysis financial advice?
It's a claiming-strategy analysis based on SSA rules and your earnings record. We coordinate with your financial advisor and tax professional for the investment and tax decisions around it — we don't replace them.
Do I have to claim Social Security and Medicare at the same time?
No — they're independent decisions. Medicare starts at 65 regardless; delaying Social Security to 70 does not mean delaying Medicare, and confusing the two is one of the costliest mistakes we see.
One decision. Decades of consequences.
Get the household math before you file — free initial consultation.