Waiting Until 70 to Claim Social Security? It’s Just Not a Financial Reality for Most

It has become all but a given that most people don’t wait to start claiming Social Security benefits until 70, and new data show that the strategy to max out monthly payments is a luxury.

Simply, most plan to claim younger out of necessity. While 10% of US workers intend to claim before they qualify for maximum monthly payments at age 70, 44% say they will likely file before 67, the “full retirement age,” survey data from Schroders show. Given that Social Security is designed to disproportionately benefit lower-wage workers who rely on the monthly payments to replace more of their preretirement income, that might not seem surprising. But the trend in financial services has been to emphasize the rewards of waiting as long as possible. That isn’t necessarily helping, said Nevin Adams, the former chief content officer at the American Retirement Association. After all, it’s hard to tell people they’re leaving money on the table, when no one knows how big their table, or lifespan, will be, among other factors.

“The retirement industry, which for years has made the mistake of trying to scare people to death, is now trying to shame them to death,” Adams said. 

Not Claiming Ignorance

It’s hardly lost on folks that they would get bigger monthly payments by waiting, but financial realities can make that goal difficult, he noted. Data from the Schroders 2025 US Retirement Survey support that:

• 70% said they were aware of the maximum payments from claiming at 70.
• Among those who said they would claim earlier than that, 37% said they simply wanted access to the money. While 36% were worried about the future of the Social Security system, 34% needed the monthly income and 15% were advised to start earlier.

What works for one person may not work for another, and that’s the case with claiming Social Security, which is complicated by income, wealth, physical health, costs of living and myriad other factors. There’s plenty of guidance out there showing the benefits of waiting as long as possible to claim, but there also seems to be growing recognition that such a strategy isn’t optimal for everyone. 

“It really is a very individual decision,” Adams said. “I started mine at full retirement age (67) … I don’t have any regrets.”