Key Points

• Your Social Security benefit is based on your average monthly earnings over your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation.

• When you choose to claim affects the size of your benefit checks for the rest of your life.

• Married couples should choose their claiming ages together to maximize their household benefits.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

It’s natural to want to start Social Security as soon as possible. You’ve spent decades paying into the program, after all. You deserve to get some of that money back in retirement. But if your goal is to maximize your lifetime benefit, rushing in could be a costly mistake.

Squeezing the most money out of the program requires careful strategy and sometimes waiting. But if the three signs below apply to you, now could be the right time to apply for benefits.

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1. You understand how your work history affects your benefits

The Social Security Administration bases your benefit on your average monthly earnings, adjusted for inflation, over your 35 highest-earning years. Understanding this gives you two key ways to boost your checks.

First, ensure you have worked work for at least 35 years before applying if possible. This helps you avoid zero-income years in your benefit calculation. If you can’t work that long, that’s OK. But be prepared for slightly smaller checks when retiring before hitting the 35-year mark. If you can work longer than 35 years, it’s often worth doing because it could result in larger checks if you earn more now than you did in the past.

You can also increase your checks by boosting your income during your career. The only people this won’t work for are those already earning more than $176,100 — the taxable wage base in 2025. The government doesn’t assess Social Security taxes on income over this amount, so earning more won’t boost your checks.

2. You’ve chosen the best-claiming age based on your health and finances

Your claiming age also affects the size of your Social Security checks. The government assigns everyone a full retirement age (FRA) based on their birth year. Most people today have FRAs of 67, though some older adults have FRAs as young as 66.

Claiming before your FRA can reduce your checks by up to 30%. On the other hand, you can delay benefits past your FRA and your checks will continue to grow until you qualify for your maximum benefit at 70.

Generally speaking, most people would get a larger lifetime benefit if they waited until their FRA or beyond to claim. But this isn’t the case for those in poor health. These individuals could be better off claiming early so they can get as much money from the program as possible before they pass away.

You may also have no choice but to claim early if you aren’t able to work and don’t have adequate personal savings to cover your expenses. In this case, claiming Social Security early is better than taking on costly debt. But you may still be able to delay benefits by a month or two in order to lock in slightly larger checks for the rest of your life.

3. You’ve talked your decision over with your spouse

Married couples often get more from the program when they coordinate their Social Security claiming strategy. When both have earned relatively similar amounts throughout their careers, that might mean each person delaying as long as possible.

Or if there’s a significant income disparity, the lower earner might claim early to help the higher earner delay benefits. Then, once the higher earner applies, the lower earner can switch to a spousal benefit if it’s worth more than what they’re already getting.

Ensure you and your partner agree on a plan before you sign up for the program. It’s possible to withdraw your Social Security application after you’ve applied, but it’s difficult, so it’s much better to choose your claiming age carefully from the start.

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