Do I Have to Draw Social Security at Age 70?
Choosing the right time to draw Social Security can feel overwhelming. It’s tempting to draw as soon as possible, yet also nerve-racking to permanently reduce your benefits if you file early. What if you wait to draw at a later age?
Deciding when to file for Social Security is a personal decision. It’s always best to start with your goals and other retirement income sources, then build a cohesive plan.
Table of Contents
Do I Have to Draw Social Security at Age 70?
Unlike Medicare, where you’re penalized if you don’t enroll on time, you don’t have to draw Social Security at all. You can apply for Social Security benefits at any age after becoming eligible.
Waiting until the age of 70 yields the highest benefit amount. For most retirees, each year you wait to draw Social Security increases your benefit by 8%.
Limitation on Retroactive Payments
If you don’t file until after you reach the age of 70, you’ll miss payments and get no additional increase in benefits. You’re limited on how much “back pay” or retroactive pay you can receive. For retirement benefits after reaching full retirement age, you can only receive up to 6 months of back pay.
However, you can’t receive retroactive payments if doing so would permanently reduce your benefits. In other words, if you waited to file until age 68, but meant to file at age 67-1/2, you can’t pick an earlier date and receive back pay. If your benefits started at age 67-1/2, then your Social Security retirement benefit would be permanently reduced, which isn’t allowed. You accrue no additional benefits after age 70, so you may be eligible for back pay.
Why Waiting Past Age 70 Usually Doesn’t Help
Waiting until after age 70 has no monetary benefit to you. In fact, we’re not aware of any specific case where we’d recommend waiting past age 70. There may be some potential “edge cases” where this could be true, but we feel it’s highly unlikely.
Delayed Retirement Credits Stop at 70
In general, delayed retirement credits are an important piece of determining your Social Security withdrawal strategy. For most folks retiring today, if born after 1960, your full retirement age is 67. If you were born before 1960, it’s best to check the chart on the Social Security Administration website.
If you delay applying for Social Security past full retirement age, you’ll receive delayed retirement credits until reaching age 70. If you were born after 1943, your delayed retirement credit is an additional 8% per year or 2/3 of 1% per month. In other words, you get an extra 2% for every 3 months you wait after reaching full retirement age.
However, once you reach age 70, there are no additional delayed retirement credits.
When Claiming at Age 70 May Make Sense
In some cases, it makes sense to wait until age 70 to receive the maximum Social Security benefit, particularly if you are married and the higher-earning spouse. However, your situation and beliefs about Social Security may dictate otherwise.
You Want the Largest Monthly Benefit
Maximizing Social Security means different things to different people. For some, they want the maximum monthly amount. For others, it’s the maximum total dollar amount.
Although these seem like similar goals, getting the maximum amount each month might not yield the highest total lifetime benefit. However, the one piece of information we need to solve for the maximum lifetime benefit is how long you’re going to live.
Without knowing your total lifespan, we can’t accurately calculate your total lifetime benefit. If getting the highest monthly benefit is important to you, then waiting until age 70 is the way to go. Normally, we’d recommend considering Social Security alongside all other aspects of retirement, then striking the best balance based on your needs and reasonable assumptions.
If You’re a Surviving Spouse
In some cases, you may be able to squeeze a tad extra from Social Security if you’re a surviving spouse. If both you and your deceased spouse earned retirement benefits, you can claim Social Security upon initial eligibility and then file later using your own benefit amount. There are risks involved with such a strategy.
Laws changing again is a potential concern over a strategy to file using a deceased spouse’s income. There have been several major changes to tax and retirement law in the last 5 years, with SECURE 2.0 and the latest One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Another key caveat is whether you’ve remarried. If you get remarried before age 60, you won’t be eligible. You’ll still be eligible to file based on your own earning history. Contact the Social Security Administration to understand your specific situation and benefit amount.
You Have Other Assets to Bridge the Gap
A major deciding factor in delaying Social Security is your other assets and income streams. If you can cover your expenses through regular withdrawals from your IRA or a pension, then waiting may be best. Plus, early withdrawals may help you reduce your RMDs later on.
On the other hand, if you need the money to live on, waiting might not be an option. Once again, your personal situation is the biggest variable.
When Delaying Past Age 70 May Make Sense
We have a tough time coming up with good reasons to delay drawing Social Security past age 70. We brainstormed some reasons you might wait past age 70. We’ve included our thoughts on the merits, or lack thereof, of delaying past age 70.
You’re Still Working and Want to Avoid Extra Taxable Income
Earning more results in more money and more taxes. You’ll still have more usable money after you pay your tax bill. Social Security is no different – at least when it comes to age 70.
If you were at or below your full retirement age, Social Security benefits are reduced above a certain earned income amount. After the year you reach full retirement age, you can earn as much as you want without a reduction in Social Security benefits. You’ll still have a portion of your Social Security taxed, but you’ll still end up with more money.
Working May Increase Your Benefits
Working more is an exception to the rule of increasing your benefits beyond age 70. Earning a higher income than you did in your wage-inflation-adjusted earning years could increase your calculated average for your highest 35 years of earnings. However, because of the way Social Security benefits are calculated, even if you’re earning more than ever, earlier years of earning might actually be higher once adjusted.
The Difference in Earning More Versus Other Retirement Income
Increasing your overall income/benefit level is different from other tax planning strategies. We’re typically modifying the timing of income, not the total income (or benefits) earned. If you zoom out, you’ll still end up with more usable money overall, even with a reduction in your Social Security benefits.
This would be like choosing $0 when you could still get 60 cents or more on the dollar.
You Are Coordinating with a Larger Tax Planning Strategy
You could argue for lower income to avoid additional taxes or Medicare premium surcharges. You might even want to limit income in a particular tax year to complete Roth conversions. Once again, this is a different argument from choosing when to withdraw from your IRA or complete a Roth conversion.
When you refuse additional income, it’s different than realizing income already earned and paying taxes on it. Even if you’re in the highest tax bracket, you’ll still have more than zero dollars left over. If you fail to file for Social Security, you just don’t get any money from the Social Security Administration.
You Need Time to Resolve Filing, Earnings, or Benefit Questions
Another possible reason for waiting past 70 might be to increase your average earnings or get additional clarification. For the increased earnings, the Social Security Administration reviews your earnings each year and will increase your benefits if your new calculated benefit is higher than your previous Social Security calculation. Once you’re above the full retirement age, there’s no reduction in benefits for working either.
Administrative Issues
If you have an administrative issue or don’t yet meet the eligibility requirements, this could come into play. There’s no age limit for earning benefits, but you must meet all other criteria based on citizenship status and work history. If you didn’t have enough qualifying quarters, you could continue working until you became eligible.
If you’re working through administrative hurdles, keep working with the Social Security Administration to resolve them. Even so, we don’t see a specific reason you’d need to wait to apply for benefits. It’s probably best to start the application process and continue to correct the errors.
Planning Issues to Review Before Filing
As you approach the time to file for Social Security, we recommend getting the other pieces of your retirement plan in place. These include understanding your desired lifestyle, where you’ll live in retirement, and other key retirement milestones.
Separating Medicare and Social Security
Another common misstep is drawing Social Security just because you’re enrolled in Medicare. In many cases, Medicare eligibility is a large factor in when people choose to retire. However, if you can use your other retirement assets to live on, it’s potentially better to wait to file for Social Security.
Regardless, we suggest thinking about each of these separately. Then you can set each piece of your retirement plan in place. It’s easy to tie Social Security and Medicare together, but the timing of Social Security is much more flexible compared to Medicare open enrollment.
Coordinating Social Security with the Rest of Your Retirement Plan
We recommend zooming out from each individual decision to see how it fits into your broader retirement plan. Planning retirement income is important, but only once you’ve done the hard work of designing what you want life to look like in retirement. It’s not just quitting your job.
The retirees with the most peace of mind have solid plans. Their retirement income is designed to weather storms and capitalize on the good times. Social Security is just one part of a bigger plan.
Planning Social Security with NextGen Wealth
Picking the right time to start drawing Social Security is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in retirement. At NextGen Wealth, we specialize in helping you build a cohesive financial plan for the transition into retirement and beyond. Contact us today to see if we’re a good fit to work together and schedule your no-obligation financial assessment.
This article was written by 
