KNOWING when to start taking Social Security benefits can be challenging.
There are several factors for Americans to consider, and taking them at one age versus another could result in less money in their pocket.
It's fairly common knowledge for retirees that the longer they wait to start taking benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), the higher monthly payments.
This is because of what's known as "delayed retirement credits," which means that the SSA will continue to increase the monthly amount until they reach 70.
Many experts believe that's partly why waiting until 70 is the best time to start taking Social Security.
At least, that's what Gal Wettstein, senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, explained to USA Today in a recent conversation.
"I'm not in the advice-giving business, but I can say things about averages," Wettstein said.
"When you just look at averages, you're better off postponing claiming until as late as possible, until 70."
The same thought was echoed by Robert Brokamp, senior adviser at The Motley Fool, and Monique Morrissey, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Despite this, the earliest age that Americans can start taking retirement benefits as per the SSA is 62, and most start then, according to a study from Bankrate.
But, why would they do that knowing they could get more from waiting?
Brokamp and Morissey cited two crucial and relatively obvious reasons -- they either needed the money or didn't expect to live very long.
Some also felt that the SSA would run out of funds soon.
Current data shows that benefits will still be awarded after 2035, but by then retirees will only get 83% of them -- unless something changes, per CNBC.
"Many people don't have enough savings," Morrissey said.
"And it also makes people nervous to draw down their savings, even if it's the right thing to do."
As of this year, the average life expectancy for an American man is 74.8 years, and a woman is a bit higher at 80.2 years, per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Given that information, waiting to take benefits until 70, or even 74, can feel like taking a huge risk.
Most want to be able to use and enjoy those benefits for several years and have a relatively decent quality of life.
In a hypothetical situation where an American man retires at 62, gets a monthly check for $1,400, and lives only to 74.8 years, he'll get about 12.8 years or 154 months worth of checks.
Excluding considerations from the annual cost of living adjustments (COLA), the man would bring in about $215,600.
It also gradually gets worse the longer the benefits are delayed, despite the increases.
Say that the hypothetical man stops working at the full retirement age of about 66 or 67, with $2,000 in checks each month -- he's still only getting about 7.8 years or 93 months of money from the SSA.
That totals a bit over $186,000 without considerations for the COLA.
Again, these calculations are assuming death at the exact age estimate from the CDC of 74.8.
But those numbers aren't entirely accurate, as it tracks from birth.
It's best to use the Social Security Life Expectancy Calculator for the most accurate results.
For example, an American man who was 62 as of March 1, 2025, is expected to live until 83.6 using the calculator.
A woman with the same birthday will likely live until 86.5.
Doing the math all over again considering the Social Security Life Expectancy Calculator, it's clearer that 62 isn't the right age to maximize benefits.
The total lifetime income for a man would be around $362,600.
Compared to waiting until 70 and having 13.6 years of payments, that would be around $404,200.
In a less advantageous situation, for example, where a retiree has a fatal illness or absolutely needs the money to stay afloat, taking the benefits earlier isn't a bad idea.
"There are people who should wait. And then there are people who have pancreatic cancer," Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist at Boston University, told USA Today.
He concluded in a paper alongside three other economists in 2022 that despite "worst-case scenario" exceptions, at least 90% of Americans should wait until 70 to take retirement benefits.