When to Claim Social Security: 3 Rules to Get a Bigger Check

What you'll learn

1. Know your full age. One. Find your full retirement age. For most people retiring now it falls between sixty-six and sixty-seven. Claim before that age and your monthly benefit is permanently reduced. Knowing this date is the starting point for every other decision.
2. Waiting pays more. Two. Each year you wait past full retirement age, up to age seventy, your benefit grows by about eight percent. There is no reason to wait past seventy, because the credits stop. If your health and savings allow, delaying raises your check for the rest of your life.
3. Plan as a couple. Three. If you are married, coordinate. The higher earner delaying can raise the survivor benefit your spouse keeps later. Talk it through together, and check your numbers at the official Social Security website before you file.

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