![\"Elderly](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/skeptical-mature-senior-man-glasses-laptop_iStock-1447807930.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n miya227 \/ iStock.com <\/p>\n
Commitment to Our Readers<\/p>\n
GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services – our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines<\/a> and our products and services review methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n 20 Years Trusted by The age when you claim Social Security benefits matters greatly to your finances. That\u2019s because claiming them when you\u2019re 62 versus waiting until 70 can amount to a $2,000 increase per month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Understanding your maximum benefit and how the Social Security Administration (SSA)<\/a> calculates it can help you decide whether claiming when you\u2019re 62 is worth it, or if you\u2019re better off waiting.<\/p>\n Maximum Social Security Benefits by Claiming Age in 2026<\/p>\n The SSA<\/a> publishes maximum monthly benefit amounts for retirees who earned at or above the taxable wage base for at least 35 years. These numbers include the cost-of-living adjustment.<\/p>\n Claiming Age\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While only a small share of retirees qualify for the maximum benefit, the age-based differences on how much you can claim apply to everyone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n How Social Security Benefits Are Calculated<\/p>\n Social Security retirement benefits are built on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). This is calculated based on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusts them for inflation and averages the amounts into a monthly figure. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the remaining years calculated in your average will include zero-dollar years<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once the AIME is calculated, then the number is run through another set of calculations to arrive at your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). That amount is the benefit you\u2019ll receive if you claim at your full retirement. For those who are born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age is 67.\u00a0<\/p>\n While your earnings history determines your PIA, the age you claim determines<\/a> whether the amount you\u2019ll ultimately receive is paid out in full, increased or decreased.\u00a0<\/p>\n Why Benefits Are Lower When You Claim Younger<\/p>\n Sure, you can start claiming Social Security as early as 62 years old, but doing that will permanently reduce your monthly benefit. The lower benefits are because those who claim earlier are expected to receive benefits for a longer period<\/a> of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n That means that if you claim at 62, you\u2019ll typically receive 30% less permanently each month than if you were to claim at your full retirement age.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plus, you might receive even less if you\u2019re still working before full retirement age. If you claim before you\u2019re 67 (or whenever your full retirement age may be) and your income while working is higher than the SSA\u2019s annual limit<\/a>, you may see some of your benefits being reduced.\u00a0<\/p>\n Should You Wait for Delayed Retirement Credits?<\/p>\n If you can afford to hold off past age 67, you can significantly increase your monthly Social Security benefits. More specifically, you may be able to increase your benefits by around 8% per year you wait, up to age 70.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, whether you choose to wait will depend on factors like your health, average spending<\/a> and other income sources<\/a>. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to look at your financial profile now and when you think you\u2019ll need additional benefits. If you have a large amount of savings or enough earnings to wait until full retirement age and beyond, it could be worth it to hold off to receive a larger check.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"miya227 \/ iStock.com Commitment to Our Readers GOBankingRates’ editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":453584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,17299,147,530,1666,733],"class_list":["post-453583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-gobankingrates","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-retirement","tag-social-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/453584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-20.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n
Helping You Live Richer<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon-experts-review.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.gobankingrates.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/icon__trusted.svg?webp=1&quality=75\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n
Millions of Readers<\/p>\n
\nMaximum Monthly Benefit\u00a0
\n62
\n$2,969\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n63
\n$3,105
\n64
\n$3,257
\n65
\n$3,467
\n66
\n$3,752\u00a0
\n67
\n$4,207
\n68
\n$4,506\u00a0\u00a0
\n69
\n$4,813
\n70
\n$5,181\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n