I’m Retired and Regret Claiming Social Security at 70 — Here’s Why

GOBankingRates ^ | May 13, 2025 | Laura Beck

[where's_the_Outrage?]

We’ve all heard the advice: Wait until you’re 70 to claim Social Security and you’ll get the biggest possible monthly check. Tim F., a retired healthcare worker from Arizona, followed this advice to the letter. But now, at 75, he’s having second thoughts.

GOBankingRates spoke with Tim to understand why he wishes he’d claimed his benefits earlier. His insights might just change the way you think about your own retirement plans.

Tim thought he was doing everything right.

“Everything you read says you should wait until 70 if you can,” he shared. “I guess I thought, well, I can, so I should. I didn’t stop to think about if that was actually the best plan for me.”

Tim likes larger monthly checks, but he’s not sure they were worth the price.

“Looking back, I would’ve wanted that extra money when my wife was still around.”.....

Tim doesn’t believe waiting until 70 is wrong for everyone. But he does have some advice for those trying to make this decision:

Consider your health. “Be realistic about how you might feel in 5 years,” said Tim.

Talk it over with your significant other. It’s not a good decision if it’s not made together.

Think about what you want to do in retirement. Travel? Spend time with grandkids? Take up knitting? Make a list and let your finances follow.

Look at your other income sources. Side hustles don’t have to end with retirement.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Health/Medicine; Society
KEYWORDS: retiredincome; retirement; socialsecurity; ss

[where's_the_Outrage?]

I took SS at 62, don't regret it at all. As my other retirement plans came together the extra I could have now at 70 is almost meaningless as I make more than I spend.

And at 70 my body is slowing down.

[eyeamok]

Taking it in 4 months at 65 and retiring

[Vermont Lt]

I started last year at 64. I am using the money to pay off all of our remaining debts and stashing some away. I don’t regret it for a second. I love getting up in the morning and knowing that I owe no one, anything.

[nuconvert]

“I took SS at 62, don’t regret it at all”

Ditto. I get people waiting until 65, but 70, nope. I know too many people who either died shortly after turning 70 or were diagnosed with a serious illness at 70. Take the money and enjoy life while you can.

[PGR88]

I’m not close to Soc. Sec. age yet, but I operate under the general premise: “a promise from politicians means nothing, so its better to get what you can, as soon as you can”

[bankwalker]

I waited until 70 ... Excellent move ... Extremely happy ...

[ebshumidors]

I started at 62 last year. My breakeven is 80 and that’s when males in my family check out.

[quilterdebbie]

I retired at age 65 in 2018 and took my benefits right away. No regrets on my part.

[srmanuel]

I decided to take SS at 65 which I turned less than 1 month ago, I get my first direct deposit in June.

In the article, the person featured talked about consider your health if you wait until 70 to take SS, I had open heart surgery in June of last year, about 11 months ago, that experience went a long way to me deciding to take SS now instead of waiting any longer.

I don’t think there is any totally wrong answer on when to take SS, everyone’s situation is different in terms of their health, financial situation, etc., take it when you think you need it and don’t look back, you worked for it, the money is supposed to be yours.

[greatvikingone]

Take the money as soon as you can. While you bring in less for early 60s withdrawal, if you wait until you are 70 you have 5 to 8 years of earnings to make up for and probably will be in your 80s before you are actually making more money for having waited.

The advice to wait is, I believe, for the benefit of the government and not the worker.

[CatHerd]

It all depends. The thing many fail to take into account: Add up all the checks you would receive in the extra five or seven years if you began drawing SS dso at 62 or 65 rather than 70. Does the extra you get at 70 more than make up for all of that over your remaining years? It all depends on what you think your life expectancy is and a number of other factors.

[sauropod]

bkmk

[Hattie]

Took mine at 62 and no regrets at 85.

[V_TWIN]

Same here, as soon as I could retire with full benifits I did.

When I was eligible for SSA I did.

Everybody thinks they are going to live forever so they get greedy and hold out for more SSA money.

The truth is, none of us know how much time we have on this earth and we are not garranteed one more minute.

Also, as someone else said, you wait too long you may not be healthy enough to enjoy whst you held out for.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Dad retired at 62 and died at 70.
I retired at 62 and at 78 am still going strong. No one knows how long they will live so retire at 62 and enjoy wile you can.
The original plan for Social Security was you could retire at 62. Average life span was 57 years, so the government would never have to pay out for many.

[Tijeras_Slim]

The place I worked closed one month after I hit 62. Didn’t feel like job searching at that age, and didn’t want to touch my retirement investments. Three years and counting, solar so good.

[af_vet_1981]

Make your best decision. There are several factors to consider.
1. Are you still employed full time and do not need the extra taxable income or do you need the money now for basic living expenses ?
2. Does someone else depend on your final benefit amount for an increase after you pass (spouse, disabled family member who became ill as a child) ?
3. What is your family life expectancy ?
4. Are you giving money to charity or heirs ?

[Vermont Lt]

My wife has had three SCAD heart attacks and survived pancreatic cancer.

When we sit down with folks to talk about retirement planning and they say to plan to live until 90…we both laugh out loud. We are taking the money and running.

[Owen]

Most of this stuff is individual.

One thing is purely mathematics.

You can find many calculators online about what age collecting Soc Sec gets the most dollars before death. These will usually say age 70 gets the most before normal life expectancy.

And there are articles about getting it early because death may be closer than “normal” and also articles about how Soc Sec may be cut.

My point in all this is back to the calculators. They all, ALL, find the “breakeven age”. At what age does collecting at 62 stop having an advantage in total collections over age 70 . . . this is presented as the definitive question.

It’s not. There is another question. “Suppose I collect early and the breakeven occurs before I’m dead and so the people collecting at a later come out ahead . . . By How Much?”

The calculators never look past breakeven age. If you do, you will find you don’t accumulate even a 10% difference until about 95 or whatever (which the vast majority of us won’t reach).

So yes, they are ahead, but only by a small amount, and by going early you have money before arthritis robs you of mobility or other problems, before death, arrive. The right threshold is not year of death. It’s year of life getting unpleasant.

[irish guard]

I was still earning too much money to collect any sooner than 66 and two months. High class problem to have, but took it as soon as I could. I did that math and calculated I would need to live to 84 to collect all that I put in. I’ll be drooling in a cup, pooping myself and chasing after every woman I see at that age.