Only about 10 percent of Americans wait until age 70 to claim Social Security benefits. That figure comes from the 2023 Schroders U.S. Retirement Survey, and actual claiming data from the Social Security Administration tells a similar story — roughly 10 percent of current beneficiaries were 70 or older when they started collecting. The vast majority, more than 90 percent, begin drawing benefits before reaching that milestone birthday. Consider a 62-year-old worker earning $60,000 a year who files for Social Security the moment eligibility kicks in.
That person could be leaving an estimated $182,000 in lifetime payments on the table compared to someone who waits until 70, according to Schroders’ analysis. Yet early claiming remains the norm, not the exception. The gap between what financial advisors recommend and what retirees actually do is one of the most persistent puzzles in retirement planning. Waiting until 70 is routinely called the single best piece of Social Security advice, and yet barely one in ten people follows it. This article breaks down the real claiming statistics, explains why so few retirees delay, examines the financial tradeoffs involved, and looks at who benefits most — and least — from holding out until 70.
Table of Contents
- How Many Retirees Actually Wait Until Age 70 to Claim Social Security?
- Why Do So Few People Delay Social Security Until 70?
- The Financial Cost of Claiming Social Security Early
- Who Should Actually Wait Until 70 to Claim Benefits?
- Common Misconceptions That Drive Early Claiming Decisions
- How Delayed Retirement Credits Work in Practice
- Will More Retirees Start Waiting Until 70?
- Conclusion
How Many Retirees Actually Wait Until Age 70 to Claim Social Security?
The numbers paint a clear picture. According to SSA data cited by ASPPA using December 2022 figures, only about 10 percent of people already receiving Social Security benefits were age 70 or older when they first started collecting. Meanwhile, 64 percent of all retired workers chose to begin benefits before reaching their full retirement age, which falls between 66 and 67 for most current retirees. More than 20 percent filed at the earliest eligible age of 62, accepting the steepest possible reduction to their monthly check. Among those closer to the decision point, the outlook shifts slightly but not dramatically. About 17 percent of non-retired Americans between ages 60 and 65 say they plan to wait until 70, according to the Schroders survey. That is higher than the roughly 10 percent seen in the general population, which makes sense — people nearing retirement tend to think more carefully about the timing question.
Still, even in this group, the overwhelming majority plan to claim earlier. The pattern has remained remarkably stable over time: most Americans take Social Security well before they maximize their benefit. To put this in perspective, imagine a room of 100 retirees at a community center. About 20 of them started collecting at 62. Another 44 or so claimed somewhere between 62 and their full retirement age. Roughly 26 waited until full retirement age or slightly beyond. And only about 10 held out until 70. The financial planning industry spends enormous energy advocating for that last group’s approach, but the numbers show it remains a minority strategy.
Why Do So Few People Delay Social Security Until 70?
Fear is the biggest driver. According to the Schroders survey, 44 percent of Americans worry that Social Security may run out of money or stop making payments entirely. That anxiety, whether grounded in reality or not, pushes people to claim early on the logic that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. When you believe the program might not be there in a few years, waiting feels like a gamble rather than a strategy. The Social Security trust fund does face a projected shortfall, but the program is funded primarily through payroll taxes and would still pay an estimated 77 to 80 percent of scheduled benefits even if Congress does nothing — a nuance that gets lost in the headlines. Knowledge gaps compound the problem. A full 55 percent of American adults say they do not know much about how Social Security benefits actually work.
Many people do not realize that benefits grow by 8 percent for each year they delay past full retirement age, or that filing at 62 permanently reduces their monthly payment by as much as 30 percent. Without understanding the mechanics, the default instinct is to take the money as soon as it becomes available. Financial literacy around Social Security is surprisingly low even among people just a few years from retirement. However, it is important to acknowledge that not everyone who claims early is making a mistake. For someone who has been laid off at 63 with no savings cushion and mounting bills, waiting seven more years is not a realistic option. Immediate financial need is a major factor, especially for workers in physically demanding jobs who can no longer earn a paycheck. Health also matters — a person diagnosed with a serious illness at 62 may reasonably conclude that taking benefits now makes more sense than betting on longevity. The advice to wait until 70 assumes you can afford to wait and that you will live long enough to benefit from the higher payments, and neither assumption holds for everyone.
The Financial Cost of Claiming Social Security Early
The math behind delayed claiming is straightforward and significant. For each year you wait past your full retirement age, your Social Security benefit increases by 8 percent per year through delayed retirement credits, according to the SSA. That means someone with a full retirement age of 67 who waits until 70 receives a roughly 24 percent higher monthly payment for life. In 2026, the maximum Social Security benefit at age 70 is $5,108 per month, compared to $3,822 per month at full retirement age — a difference of $1,286 every single month. Over a full retirement, those monthly differences add up to staggering sums. Schroders’ analysis estimates that filing early rather than waiting until 70 can cost approximately $182,000 in foregone lifetime payments. Take a hypothetical retiree named Linda who earned above-average wages throughout her career. If Linda claims at 67, she might receive $2,800 per month.
If she waits three more years, that jumps to roughly $3,472 per month. Over 20 years of retirement, that $672 monthly difference amounts to more than $161,000 in additional income — and that is before considering cost-of-living adjustments, which compound on the higher base amount. The flip side deserves equal attention. Those extra three years of waiting mean Linda collects zero dollars from Social Security between 67 and 70. She needs roughly $100,800 in other income or savings to cover that gap (assuming she needs the $2,800 per month she would have received). The breakeven point — the age at which total lifetime benefits from waiting surpass total benefits from claiming at full retirement age — typically falls somewhere around 80 to 82. Retirees who live well past that age come out significantly ahead by waiting. Those who do not may have been better off claiming earlier.
Who Should Actually Wait Until 70 to Claim Benefits?
Waiting until 70 makes the strongest case for people who are in good health, have other income sources to bridge the gap, and expect to live into their mid-80s or beyond. A married couple where one spouse earned significantly more than the other stands to benefit considerably, because the higher earner’s delayed benefit also sets the floor for the surviving spouse’s benefit. If a husband who earned more waits until 70 and then passes away at 85, his wife receives his higher benefit amount for the rest of her life — potentially decades of increased income that would not exist had he claimed at 62. By contrast, claiming earlier often makes sense for people with health issues that may shorten their life expectancy, those who have no other retirement savings and need the income immediately, or single retirees without a spouse who would inherit a survivor benefit. A construction worker with chronic back problems who stops working at 62 faces a very different calculation than a healthy office worker with a pension and a 401(k).
The construction worker may need Social Security to cover basic expenses, and the reduced benefit at 62 still beats no income at all. The tradeoff is real: a smaller check now versus a larger check later, with the answer depending entirely on individual circumstances. There is also a middle path that often gets overlooked. Claiming at full retirement age — 66 or 67 for most people — avoids the early filing penalty while not requiring the three additional years of waiting. For many retirees, this represents a reasonable compromise between maximizing benefits and accessing them within a practical timeframe. Not every decision needs to be all-or-nothing.
Common Misconceptions That Drive Early Claiming Decisions
The most damaging misconception is that Social Security is about to disappear entirely. While the program does face funding challenges, the 44 percent of Americans who fear it will run out of money are operating on an incomplete understanding. Even under the worst projections, Social Security can pay a substantial majority of promised benefits indefinitely through ongoing payroll tax revenue. Claiming early because you think the program will vanish is like selling your house at a discount because you heard property values might dip — the fear is real, but the response is disproportionate to the actual risk. Another widespread misunderstanding involves taxes. Many retirees do not realize that up to 85 percent of Social Security benefits can be subject to federal income tax, depending on total income.
This means the timing of when you claim can interact with other retirement income in ways that affect your overall tax burden. Someone who claims at 62 while still working part-time, for example, may find that the combination of wages and Social Security pushes them into a bracket where a significant portion of their benefit is taxed — effectively reducing the already-reduced early benefit even further. A third misconception is that you can simply change your mind later. While Social Security does allow you to withdraw your application within the first 12 months and repay all benefits received, this option has strict limits and is not widely known. After that window closes, your benefit amount is locked in, adjusted only for annual cost-of-living increases. The decision you make at 62, 65, or 67 follows you for the rest of your life. Given that 55 percent of adults admit they do not understand the system well, it is worth spending time with the SSA’s online calculators or a financial advisor before making a permanent choice.
How Delayed Retirement Credits Work in Practice
The delayed retirement credit system is one of the most generous guaranteed returns available in personal finance. For every month you delay past full retirement age, your benefit increases by two-thirds of one percent — which works out to 8 percent per year. This is not an investment return subject to market risk. It is a contractual increase backed by the federal government. Consider a retiree named James whose full retirement age benefit is $2,500 per month. By waiting just one year until 68, his benefit rises to $2,700.
By 69, it reaches $2,900. At 70, it hits $3,100 — permanently. Those credits stop accumulating at 70, which is why there is no financial incentive to delay beyond that age. The 8 percent annual increase also has a compounding effect when layered with cost-of-living adjustments. If inflation runs at 3 percent annually, James’s $3,100 benefit at 70 grows faster in absolute dollar terms than a $2,500 benefit claimed at 67, because the percentage increase applies to a larger base. Over a 20-year retirement, that difference becomes increasingly pronounced.
Will More Retirees Start Waiting Until 70?
There are reasons to think the percentage of people waiting until 70 could gradually increase, though a dramatic shift is unlikely anytime soon. Financial literacy efforts are expanding, employer-sponsored retirement plans are becoming more common, and online tools from the SSA make it easier than ever to model different claiming scenarios. As more workers reach retirement with 401(k) balances and other savings, more will have the financial cushion needed to delay Social Security — the bridge income that makes waiting feasible rather than theoretical. Working longer is also becoming more common.
The labor force participation rate among Americans 65 and older has been trending upward for two decades. If more people remain employed into their late 60s, the practical barrier to waiting until 70 — having no income during the gap years — diminishes. That said, structural factors like health limitations, job market discrimination against older workers, and caregiving responsibilities will continue to push many people toward earlier claiming. The 10 percent figure may rise to 15 or even 20 percent over the next decade, but waiting until 70 is likely to remain a minority choice for the foreseeable future.
Conclusion
The data is unambiguous: only about 10 percent of Americans wait until age 70 to claim Social Security, despite the substantial financial advantages of doing so. More than 90 percent claim earlier, with nearly two-thirds filing before full retirement age and over 20 percent taking benefits at the earliest possible age of 62. Fear about the program’s solvency, lack of understanding about how benefits work, and immediate financial need all contribute to early claiming decisions that can cost retirees an estimated $182,000 in lifetime benefits.
Whether waiting until 70 is the right choice depends on your health, your savings, your marital status, and your ability to cover expenses during the gap years. There is no universal answer, but there is a universal recommendation: understand the tradeoffs before you decide. Review your estimated benefits on the SSA website, consider how long you realistically expect to live, and talk to a financial advisor if the stakes feel high. The difference between claiming at 62 and claiming at 70 can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime — a decision that deserves more than a guess.