Social Security is one of the most consequential financial decisions you'll make in retirement. It's also one of the most commonly mishandled — not because people aren't thoughtful, but because the decision is more layered than it first appears.
Most people approach it from one of two directions. They claim at 62 because that's the earliest eligible age, or they wait because they've heard that waiting is always the smarter move. Neither instinct is inherently correct. The right answer is shaped by a specific combination of factors that are unique to your situation — and because the decision is largely irreversible once made, it's worth understanding all of them before you file.
Here's the framework I walk through with clients.
Factor 1: Your Break-Even Age
The math is the right place to start — but it's where most people's thinking stops too early.
Claiming Social Security at 62 reduces your monthly benefit permanently, by as much as 30% compared to what you'd receive at your full retirement age (FRA). In exchange, you receive payments for more years. Claiming at 70 means a longer wait, but your benefit increases by 8% for every year you delay beyond your FRA — a meaningful and predictable increase under current Social Security rules, independent of investment market conditions.
The break-even age is the point at which the cumulative value of waiting surpasses the cumulative value of claiming early. For most people, that falls somewhere between 78 and 82, depending on your FRA and your specific benefit amount.
If you have reason to expect a long life, delaying often makes mathematical sense. If serious health concerns make longevity uncertain, claiming earlier may be the more rational choice. The break-even calculation gives you a concrete reference point — but it's only the starting point for this decision, not the end of it.
Factor 2: Your Spouse's Benefit
For married couples, the Social Security decision is not an individual one. This is where some of the most significant and consequential misunderstandings tend to occur.
When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse retains the higher of the two benefits — not both, just the larger one. That means the higher earner's claiming decision has a direct and permanent effect on the financial security of the surviving spouse for the remainder of their life.
If the higher earner claims early and locks in a reduced benefit, that reduced amount becomes the ceiling the surviving spouse will live on if widowed. If the higher earner delays to 70, the substantially larger benefit provides a much stronger financial foundation for the survivor.
What looks like a modest monthly difference at 62 versus 70 can translate to a six-figure difference in lifetime survivor income over a 20- or 30-year retirement. For most married couples, the spousal benefit dimension is the single most important factor in this decision — and it often gets the least attention.
Factor 3: Whether You're Still Working
This factor is frequently overlooked, and it catches people off guard.
If you claim Social Security before your full retirement age and continue earning income from work, your benefit may be reduced if your earnings exceed the annual earnings limit — currently $22,320 for 2026. For every two dollars earned above that threshold, one dollar is withheld from your benefit.
The withheld amount isn't gone permanently. It is recalculated into a higher benefit once you reach your FRA. But it does create cash flow complications, and for someone earning a professional income in the years leading up to full retirement age, it can effectively eliminate the financial rationale for claiming early.
Once you reach your full retirement age, the earnings limit no longer applies. You can work, earn without restriction, and receive your full Social Security benefit simultaneously.
This is particularly relevant for physicians who transition to part-time practice, faculty members who take on consulting or emeritus roles, and professionals who step back from full-time work gradually rather than stopping all at once.
Factor 4: Changes for Public Sector Workers — What Educators Need to Know Now
If you receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security — which includes many state government and public school positions in Connecticut and across the country — there's an important update that affects your planning.
The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5, 2025, repealing both the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions had reduced or eliminated the Social Security benefits of over 2.8 million people who received a pension from work not covered by Social Security.
The repeal primarily affects individuals with pensions from employers that do not participate in Social Security — a group that historically included many teachers, firefighters, and civil servants.
What this means in practice:
- If your own Social Security benefit was previously reduced by WEP, that reduction no longer applies.
- Public-sector spouses who were previously shut out of survivor benefits are now eligible to receive spousal benefits of up to 50% of their spouse's full retirement amount, with no pension deduction.
This is a significant change — and one that actually creates new planning opportunities for educators and public employees who previously assumed Social Security would play little or no role in their retirement income. If you haven't revisited your Social Security strategy in light of this repeal, now is the time to do so.
How the Social Security Decision Connects to Your Broader Plan
Social Security doesn't exist in isolation from the rest of your retirement income strategy. It connects directly to several other planning decisions:
Pension income affects how much you need from Social Security and how your combined income is taxed. Portfolio withdrawals — when you draw from your investment accounts and in what amounts — interact with your Social Security start date in ways that affect both tax efficiency and long-term sustainability. Required Minimum Distributions, which begin at age 73, shape your tax bracket in retirement and can make Social Security income more or less tax-efficient depending on how your claiming strategy is sequenced. And for married couples, both spouses' claiming strategies need to be modeled together, not independently.
Optimized in isolation, the Social Security decision is a straightforward math problem. Coordinated with the full picture of your retirement income plan, it becomes considerably more nuanced — and considerably more valuable to get right.
The Takeaway
There is no universally correct age to claim Social Security. The right answer depends on your health and longevity expectations, your spouse's situation, whether you plan to continue working, any pension provisions that apply to your career history, and how Social Security fits into your broader income strategy.
What exists is a framework — and when the relevant factors are modeled together with your specific numbers, the path forward becomes considerably clearer.
If you'd like to work through your Social Security strategy as part of a comprehensive retirement income review, I'd be glad to connect.
David Wheatley, CLU® ChFC®
Senior Partner | Tidewater Wealth Management
New Haven & West Hartford, CT
david@tidewaterwealth.com | www.tidewaterwealth.com
Schedule a complimentary conversation with David Wheatley to model your Social Security strategy