Claim-age math: the move couples get wrong.

Social Security lets you claim anywhere from age 62 to 70. The decision matters because:

• Claiming at 62 reduces your benefit by 30% vs Full Retirement Age (67)
• Delaying to 70 increases it by 24% vs Full Retirement Age
• These adjustments are permanent and inflation-indexed

So the same person could collect $1,800/month claiming at 62, or $3,360/month claiming at 70 — for the rest of their life and (importantly) for their surviving spouse's life.

The survivor benefit nobody runs correctly

When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the higher of the two benefits, not both. The lower benefit goes away.

This means: if the higher-earning spouse delays to 70, that delay benefit becomes the survivor benefit. Both spouses are protected by the delay.

If the higher-earning spouse claims early at 62, the household has more income today, but the survivor benefit is locked in 30% lower forever.

For most couples where one spouse will likely outlive the other significantly (often the wife), the optimal play is:

• Lower earner claims at 62-66 for current cash flow
• Higher earner delays to 70 to maximize the survivor benefit
• This balances current income with longevity protection

The breakeven against simply claiming at 67 across the board is around age 80 — meaning if the higher-earning spouse lives past 80, the delay-to-70 strategy wins. The average 65-year-old American woman has a life expectancy of 87. The math usually favors the delay.

When to claim at 62 anyway

The delay-to-70 strategy isn't right for everyone. Claim at 62 if:

1. You have a serious health condition that significantly reduces life expectancy. The breakeven math doesn't work if you don't live to 80.
2. You genuinely need the money to cover essential expenses and have no other source. The trade is real, but eating is real too.
3. You're the lower earner in a couple where the higher earner is delaying. Your benefit will eventually be replaced by their higher one anyway when you become survivor.
4. You have a significantly older partner whose survivor benefit you'd inherit. Different math entirely.

When to claim at exactly Full Retirement Age (67)

Claim at FRA if:

• You're single, healthy, and value the certainty of starting now over the optimization of waiting
• You're still working — earnings limit applies before FRA but vanishes at FRA
• You expect to live to roughly average life expectancy but don't have unusual longevity in the family

The work earnings limit (only matters before FRA)

If you claim Social Security before Full Retirement Age and continue working, the SSA reduces your benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn over $22,320 (2024 limit). At FRA, the limit disappears and the reductions are paid back as a permanent benefit increase.

This is why claiming early while still working is usually a bad deal. You get less now AND less later.

After FRA, you can earn unlimited income with no penalty.

The 2025 Social Security Fairness Act change

Important update for people who paid into both Social Security AND a public pension (teachers, firefighters, federal employees, some state workers): the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) were repealed by the Social Security Fairness Act in January 2025.

If your benefit was previously reduced because of a public pension, it is now restored. Roughly 3 million retirees got benefit increases averaging $360/month. If this is you and you have not seen the adjustment, contact SSA directly.

What to do this week

Three actions:

1. Pull your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount. Look at the three benefit projections (62, 67, 70).
2. If married, run the survivor benefit scenario. Use Open Social Security — free, intelligent, runs the math for married-couple optimization. Better than 95% of professional advice.
3. Make the claiming decision before age 62, not the day you turn 62. The decision is reversible only within 12 months of claiming, and only once.

On the bigger Social Security solvency question

You may have heard Social Security is "running out" in 2033 or 2035. The actual picture: the trust fund is projected to deplete around 2034, after which Social Security would still pay roughly 77% of scheduled benefits from ongoing payroll taxes.

This isn't a recommendation to claim early "before it runs out." Even pessimistic projections do not have benefits stopping. The political reality is that Congress will adjust before any meaningful benefit cut hits. The most likely fix is raising or removing the Social Security wage cap (currently $168,600).

Plan as if you'll receive your scheduled benefits. Adjust if and when policy changes.

Next week: second-act careers — the math of pivoting in your 50s without going broke.

Alexander After Forty Feel Reader-funded. Research-led. No supplement-brand sponsorships.