When it comes to Social Security and retirement, you may have conflicting viewpoints: On one side, you hope to start collecting your benefits as soon as you’re eligible, or maybe you’re concerned you’ll need that income sooner. On the other side, you know that if you wait, your monthly benefit amount will be greater.
While it may make sense to wait as long as you can, you may want to consider reevaluating your situation every year in retirement before deciding whether to continue delaying the beginning of Social Security benefits.
Because each individual, couple, widow, and widower has a unique lifestyle and unique income needs, a year-by-year evaluation prior to beginning benefits can be a smart approach.
One item you need for that annual retirement review is a current copy of your Social Security benefit estimate from ssa.gov. This provides personalized estimates of future benefits based on your actual earnings and lets you see your latest statement and your earnings history.
This article outlines a comparison of claiming now vs. later and offers key considerations as you review your strategy each year.
Comparison: Claiming sooner versus later
Let’s start with a hypothetical example:1 John Doe was born in 1960 and was earning $200,000 a year when he retired providing a Full Retirement Age benefit of $3,000. He decided to start receiving Social Security benefits as soon as he became eligible at 62, or five years before he would receive full retirement benefits. His monthly benefit in today’s dollars is approximately $2,100.
If he had delayed receiving benefits until he was 70, he’d receive about $1,620 more a month, or $3,720. And he would make up for the eight-year delay in not taking any benefits in about 10 years.2
Unlike personal assets that can be exhausted, Social Security is a vast resource provided by the U.S. government. As long as you are alive, you should continue to receive your Social Security benefits and with a cost-of-living adjustment throughout your retirement years.
Make wellness a deciding factor
Your health can play a big role in helping determine when you should start taking benefits. Do your loved ones live long lives, or have most succumbed to illness before age 65? While it’s not the most accurate indicator of what’s going to transpire in the future, it may have some bearing, and therefore can be something you take into consideration.
If you’re in reasonably good health and anticipate a continued healthy lifestyle, that usually counsels in favor of waiting. If, on the other hand, you’re in poorer health and have concerns about longevity, that counsels toward drawing benefits sooner rather than later.
Do you have enough income?
Another key factor is whether you have sufficient income from other sources to live comfortably in retirement without immediately relying on Social Security. Delaying benefits can result in a meaningful increase in monthly payments — often cited as approximately 8% per year3 of delay, plus future cost‑of‑living adjustments, which should continue for the rest of your life.
For individuals who are able to rely on other income sources early in retirement, delaying Social Security may provide higher, inflation‑adjusted income later in life.
Considerations for married couples
Married couples should evaluate how the timing of each spouse’s Social Security benefits affects both lifetime income and survivor protection. In many cases, delaying benefits — particularly for the higher‑earning spouse — can be advantageous. This approach not only increases that spouse’s monthly benefit, but also maximizes the survivor benefit, which generally allows the surviving spouse to receive the higher of the two benefit amounts for the remainder of their life.
In addition, the lower‑earning spouse may choose to delay claiming benefits until full retirement age to receive the maximum spousal benefit — generally up to 50% of the higher‑earning spouse’s full retirement age benefit. When coordinated thoughtfully, these strategies may provide greater long‑term income security, especially for couples who can rely on other income sources earlier in retirement.
What about taxes?
A portion of Social Security benefits may be subject to federal income tax, depending on your overall income. Under current IRS rules as of January 1, 2026, up to 85% of benefits can be taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds.
Recent tax legislation4 introduced an enhanced deduction for individuals age 65 and older, which may help reduce taxable income and, in some cases, offset the tax impact of Social Security benefits. This deduction phases out at higher income levels and does not change the underlying rules for how Social Security benefits are taxed, making it important to evaluate claiming decisions within the context of overall income planning.
1 This information is hypothetical and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to represent any specific return, yield, or investment, nor is it indicative of future results.
2 Source: Social Security Administration - SSA.gov - Delayed Retirement Benefits; as of January 1, 2026.
3 Source: Social Security Administration - SSA.gov - Delayed Retirement Benefits; as of January 1, 2026.
4 Source: One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Public Law 119‑21 IRC §151(d)(5)(C) — “Deduction for Seniors”; enacted July 4, 2025.
Wells Fargo & Company and its affiliates do not provide tax or legal advice. This communication cannot be relied upon to avoid tax penalties. Please consult your tax and legal advisors to determine how this information may apply to your own situation. Whether any planned tax result is realized by you depends on the specific facts of your own situation at the time your tax return is filed.