Social Security Claiming Mistakes That Cost Retirees the Most

The ground rules for anyone claiming now: full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. Claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full retirement age benefit for life, and each year you delay past full retirement age adds 8%, reaching 124% at 70. Benefits rose 2.8% for 2026 and will rise 3.6% for 2027, and the COLA applies to whatever base you lock in. In late September 2026, Congress cleared the Claiming Age Clarity Act, which would rename 62, full retirement age and 70 as the minimum, standard and maximum benefit ages. It changes labels, not amounts, and was awaiting the President's signature when this page was updated.

Mistake 1: Claiming early because of trust fund headlines. The 2026 Trustees Report projects the retirement trust fund will be depleted in late 2032, after which incoming payroll taxes would cover roughly 78% of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts. A cut of that kind would apply to retirees regardless of when they claimed, so claiming at 62 does not protect you from it; it adds a permanent 30% reduction on top. Mistake 2: The higher earner claims early. When the first spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two checks. If the higher earner claims at 62 instead of 70, the survivor benefit drops to the survivor floor of 82.5% of the higher earner's full retirement age amount instead of 124%, a check about one third smaller that the survivor may live on for 15 or 20 years.

Mistake 3: Claiming before full retirement age while still working. In 2026, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480, rising to $25,560 in 2027. In the year you reach full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in 2026 and $67,920 in 2027. Withheld benefits are credited back through a higher benefit later, but the cash-flow hit is real. Mistake 4: Waiting past full retirement age for a spousal benefit. The spousal benefit tops out at 50% of the worker's full retirement age amount and earns no delayed credits, so a spouse who claims only spousal benefits gains nothing by waiting past full retirement age.

Mistake 5: Ignoring taxes. Up to 85% of benefits become taxable once provisional income passes $44,000 for joint filers or $34,000 for single filers, and those thresholds have never been indexed. Claiming early adds income in the same years that are best for Roth conversions, crowding out conversion room. Mistake 6: Believing Social Security is now tax-free. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not change how benefits are taxed. It added a $6,000 deduction per person 65 and older for 2025 through 2028, which phases out above $75,000 of modified AGI single or $150,000 joint. Arizona does not tax Social Security benefits.

Mistake 7: Not checking the earnings record. Your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings, and a missing year counts as zero. Errors are far easier to fix while the W-2s still exist. Mistake 8: Using a retroactive claim after full retirement age without understanding it. SSA can pay up to six months retroactively, but the start date moves back with it, giving up the delayed credits for those months. Mistake 9: Forgetting the do-over and the switch. Within 12 months of claiming, you can withdraw your application with Form SSA-521 by repaying everything received, once in your lifetime. A widow or widower can take a survivor benefit as early as 60 and switch to their own benefit at 70, or the reverse. Mistake 10: Missing benefits you are owed. A divorced spouse married at least 10 years can claim on an ex's record if currently unmarried, and the Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO for benefits payable after December 2023, so teachers, police and other public employees with pensions should revisit their estimates.

For a married couple with $1.5M to $5M, the claiming decision is mostly a survivor decision. A common approach is for the higher earner to delay toward 70, locking in the largest survivor benefit, while the lower earner claims earlier. That bridge years strategy pairs well with Roth conversions from the time you retire until the higher earner claims, using portfolio withdrawals to cover living costs in the meantime. It is not right for everyone; poor health, a big age gap or a very small benefit difference can point the other way.

Run the numbers with your own statement, not averages. Download your estimates at 62, full retirement age and 70 from my Social Security, confirm the earnings record, then model the break-even age, the survivor's income and the tax effect together. The break-even on delaying usually falls in the early 80s, but for couples the relevant life expectancy is that of the longer-living spouse, which is often well past 90.

Remember Medicare runs on its own clock. If you delay Social Security past 65, you will not be enrolled in Medicare automatically and must sign up yourself to avoid late penalties, and Part B premiums will be billed to you directly until benefits start. Once benefits begin, the 2026 standard Part B premium of $202.90 a month, plus any IRMAA surcharge, comes out of your check.

• Claiming at 62 because of the 2032 trust fund projection, locking in a 30% permanent reduction that would stack on top of any future cut.
• Letting the higher earner claim early and shrinking the survivor benefit for the spouse who outlives them.
• Claiming while working before full retirement age above the $24,480 (2026) or $25,560 (2027) earnings limit.
• Delaying a spousal-only benefit past full retirement age, when spousal benefits earn no delayed credits.
• Assuming OBBBA made Social Security tax-free, when it added a temporary senior deduction and left the benefit taxation formula unchanged.
• Never checking the earnings record, so a missing year quietly lowers the benefit for life.
• Missing the 12-month withdrawal window to undo an early claim.
• Not re-checking benefits after the Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO.