Dear Rusty: My wife was born in July 1959, and her recent Social Security (SS) benefit estimate is $3,337 at her full retirement age (FRA), or $4,397 at age 70. She presently works full time and intends to continue working until she is aged 70. She is wondering when the most financially advantageous time would be to draw her SS retirement.

Signed: Planning Ahead

Dear Planning Ahead: Obviously, the best time for your wife to get the highest possible monthly Social Security benefit would be age 70. Provided your wife’s life expectancy is at least average (about age 87 for a woman her current age), she will likely receive the most in cumulative lifetime SS benefits by waiting until age 70 to claim.

For clarity, if your wife were to choose to claim before her FRA, her monthly amount would be less and she would be subject to Social Security’s Annual Earnings Test (AET), which limits how much she can earn before her FRA. If the AET is exceeded, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will take away $1 for every $2 her earnings are over the limit (it takes away by withholding future benefits until the penalty is satisfied). The AET (it’s $23,400 for 2025, but changes annually) is in effect until your wife reaches her FRA of 66 years and 10 months, after which she can earn as must as she likes without penalty. Since she plans to work full time until age 70, your wife should likely not claim Social Security before her FRA. As mentioned, claiming at age 70 is probably a more prudent financial option.

Since your wife expects to continue working, she should also know that her estimated benefit will likely increase assuming her more recent earnings are among the highest over her lifetime. The SSA will review current-year earnings annually to see if her current earnings warrant a benefit increase (SS benefits are always based on the highest 35 years of work earnings, and that includes earnings even after SS benefits are started). Also, the estimates provided by the SSA do not include cost of living adjustments (COLA) which typically occur annually. FYI, the average annual COLA increase over the past two decades has been about 2.5 percent.

Based on her estimated FRA benefit, it is also evident that your wife will not get additional benefits as your spouse. For that to occur, your benefit at your FRA would need to be more than twice your wife’s FRA amount, which it likely is not. Thus, your wife should make her claiming decision based only on her own benefit opportunity, considering her personal financial needs and her life expectancy.

FYI, your wife’s “breakeven age”— the age at which she will have collected the same amount of SS money by claiming at age 70 versus claiming at her full FRA, is about 82 years of age. Thus, assuming her life expectancy is more than 82, it would be wise to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security.

In the end, the “best” time to claim Social Security depends on a few factors — most notably, life expectancy, and financial need. If the SS money isn’t urgently needed now, and your wife’s life expectancy is at least “average,” then it appears from what you’ve shared that her best choice would be to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security. If life circumstances change over the years, your wife can take comfort knowing that she can also claim her Social Security at any time before age 70 and she will get benefits right up to the month she claims. Note that by waiting until after her FRA to claim, she will earn delayed retirement credits (DRCs) of 0.667 percent more benefit for each month of delay (or about 8 percent more for each year of delay).          

Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.

Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained, and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.