Waiting can raise monthly benefits, but many workers appear to be weighing that payoff against near-term income needs, health, job realities and doubts about the program.
For many future retirees, the Social Security question is not just which claiming age produces the largest monthly check. It is whether they can cover the years before that larger check begins.
That tension helps explain a Schroders survey reported by CBS News on October 22, 2025: nine in 10 working Americans do not plan to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security, even though waiting can increase monthly benefits. The same report said only 10% expect to delay until 70, while 44% plan to claim before full retirement age.
The decision often starts with cash flow
Delaying Social Security can make sense on paper for people who have savings, continued earnings or other income to bridge the gap. But not every household can treat the claiming decision as a pure optimization problem.
Rent or mortgage payments, insurance, groceries, medical costs and debt can make an earlier benefit feel less like a preference than a necessity. If Social Security is needed to pay current bills, a higher payment years later may not solve the immediate problem.
Health can also push people toward claiming sooner. Someone with a chronic condition may weigh the smaller check against uncertainty about how long they will collect benefits. Job loss, caregiving duties or physically demanding work can also shorten the time people expect to remain employed.
What the ages do to the benefit
Social Security retirement benefits can start at age 62. For many current workers, full retirement age is 67, and the Social Security Administration says benefits rise the longer a person delays the start date, up to age 70.
The tradeoff is substantial. According to the CBS News report, claiming at 62 can reduce the monthly payment by about 30%, and that lower amount is generally locked in for life. Waiting until 70 can produce a monthly payment roughly 24% higher than claiming at 67.
That is why advisers often highlight delay for people in good health, people with longer life expectancy and married couples where a larger benefit could later matter for a surviving spouse. CBS News reported that one study found filing early can cost $182,000 in foregone payments.
The break-even point changes the conversation
The larger age-70 check does not erase the money a person skipped immediately. The break-even point is when the delayed strategy catches up with the total collected by claiming earlier.
CBS News used an example based on an average monthly Social Security benefit of about $2,000. In that scenario, a person claiming at 62 would receive about $1,400 a month and collect about $134,400 over the eight years before turning 70.
If the same person waited until 70, the example put the monthly benefit at about $2,480. The larger payment would need years to overtake the early-claiming total, with the break-even age at about 80.4.
That example does not prove that claiming early is the better choice. It shows why the answer depends on life expectancy, savings, work plans, taxes, marital status and risk tolerance. The Social Security Administration offers an online calculator that lets users compare how claiming ages change monthly benefits.
Program doubts can pull people earlier
Some workers are also influenced by concerns about Social Security’s long-term finances. The trust funds are under pressure as the population ages and benefit payments outpace incoming payroll-tax revenue.
CBS News cited the most recent Social Security Board of Trustees projection that the trust funds could become insolvent by 2034 if lawmakers do not act. Insolvent does not mean Social Security would vanish.
The program would still collect payroll taxes, but scheduled benefits could face cuts of about 20%. That distinction matters because the projection describes a gap between scheduled benefits and dedicated revenue, not the end of all payments.
Lawmakers have options, including raising the income cap on wages subject to Social Security taxes. CBS News cited that cap at $176,100. What remains unresolved is who would pay more, who would receive less and when any changes would arrive.
The survey is not just about awareness
The Schroders survey was based on 1,500 adults. According to CBS News, Schroders found that 70% of respondents know waiting longer leads to higher payments.
According to CBS News, Deb Boyden, head of U.S. defined contribution at Schroders, said the decision is “not an oversight” for most Americans. In other words, many workers appear to understand the benefit of waiting but do not believe their circumstances allow it.
The sharper question is not whether everyone should claim at 62 or everyone should wait until 70. It is what role Social Security must play in a specific household budget, and whether that household has the savings, health and job stability to delay.
Leave a Reply