You can claim at 62, at your full retirement age (67 for anyone born in 1960 or later), or wait until 70. Claiming at 62 pays about 30% less for life. Waiting to 70 pays about 24% more than the full-age amount. For a married couple, the bigger question is usually which spouse waits, because the larger check becomes the survivor’s check.
Most people treat this as a break-even question: how long do I have to live for waiting to pay off? That math is real, but it leaves out the three things that usually matter more. What happens to the spouse who is left. What happens to your taxes. And what happens to your Medicare premiums.
Social Security timing, Medicare premiums and IRA withdrawals are not separate decisions. They are the same income problem viewed from three angles.
Should I take Social Security at 62, 67 or 70?
Here is what the claiming age does to a benefit of $42,000 a year at full retirement age:
| Claim at | Annual benefit | Compared with full retirement age |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | $29,400 | 30% less, for life |
| 67 (full retirement age) | $42,000 | — |
| 70 | $52,080 | 24% more, for life |
Illustration for someone born in 1960 or later. Benefits are adjusted for inflation each year in all three cases.
If you are single, in poor health, or need the income now, claiming earlier can be the right answer. If you are married, keep reading before you decide.
Should both spouses delay Social Security?
Usually not. When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two checks, not both. That makes the higher earner’s benefit the one that has to last the longest.
A common approach is to delay the higher earner to 70 and let the lower earner claim earlier. If the higher earner dies first, the survivor steps up to the larger, delayed benefit, whenever they claimed their own. (The step-up is paid in full once the survivor has reached full retirement age.)
Claiming early on the larger benefit shrinks the survivor’s income for the rest of their life.
Why would waiting help with Roth conversions?
The years between retirement and 70 are often the lowest-income years you will ever have. The paycheck has stopped, the larger Social Security check has not started, and required minimum distributions (RMDs) do not begin until 73 or later.
Those low-income years are a window. You can convert IRA money to a Roth at tax rates you choose, instead of waiting for RMDs to force the income out later at whatever rate applies then. Delaying the higher earner’s Social Security is what keeps that window open.
Will my Social Security be taxed?
It can be. How much depends on your “combined income”: your other income plus half of your Social Security. For a married couple filing jointly:
| Combined income | Share of benefits that can be taxed |
|---|---|
| Under $32,000 | None |
| $32,000 to $44,000 | Up to 50% |
| Over $44,000 | Up to 85% |
Thresholds are lower for single filers ($25,000 and $34,000).
This is why the account you draw from matters. An IRA withdrawal counts as income and can make more of your Social Security taxable. A withdrawal from a Roth does not. The same dollar can cost you two taxes or none, depending on where it comes from.
Will my income raise my Medicare premiums?
Yes, above certain levels. The surcharge is called IRMAA. It is based on your income from two years earlier, and deductions do not reduce it. A large IRA withdrawal, an asset sale or a big RMD can raise your Medicare premiums by thousands of dollars two years later.
| Income, single | Income, married filing jointly | Extra cost per person, per year |
|---|---|---|
| Up to $109,000 | Up to $218,000 | $0 |
| $109,001 – $137,000 | $218,001 – $274,000 | $1,148 |
| $137,001 – $171,000 | $274,001 – $342,000 | $2,874 |
| $171,001 – $205,000 | $342,001 – $410,000 | $4,604 |
| $205,001 – $499,999 | $410,001 – $749,999 | $6,292 |
| $500,000 and over | $750,000 and over | $6,936 |
2026 Medicare Part B and Part D surcharges above the standard premium (CMS). Based on the 2024 tax return. A married couple both on Medicare pays the surcharge twice.
What happens to Social Security when one spouse dies?
The survivor keeps one check, the larger one. Their income drops, but their tax bill often does not, because they now file as a single taxpayer with narrower brackets and lower Medicare thresholds.
A married couple with $200,000 of income pays no Medicare surcharge. After one spouse dies, the same $200,000 for the survivor triggers a $4,604 surcharge. Nothing about their life got easier, but the bill went up. This is the widow’s penalty, and it arrives automatically unless it is planned for in advance.
An illustration from Financial Fortress: Grant and Susan
Grant and Susan retire at 62 with $3.5 million in a traditional IRA, $1 million in a brokerage account and no Roth. Grant’s benefit at full retirement age is $42,000. Susan’s is $18,000.
Deciding each piece separately, they both claim at 62 and live off the IRA. By 73 the IRA has grown to about $5.4 million and the first RMD is about $206,000. If one of them dies at 80, the survivor’s first full year brings a federal tax bill of about $86,000.
Treated as one plan, Grant waits until 70 and Susan claims at 62. They live off the brokerage account while converting IRA money to a Roth during the low-income years. If one of them dies at 80, the survivor’s federal tax in the first year is about $11,700: 86% less, on the same spending.
Same assets. Same spending. The difference came from the order of the decisions.
Grant and Susan are an illustrative composite from the book, not clients. The figures are hypothetical, assume 7% growth on the IRA and Roth and 6% on the brokerage account, and use 2026 federal tax brackets, IRMAA thresholds and RMD rules. Actual results will differ.
Does the spousal benefit grow if the lower earner waits?
Only until full retirement age. A spouse can receive up to half of the higher earner’s full-age benefit, but the spousal benefit earns no delayed credits after full retirement age. Waiting past 67 adds nothing to it. That is one more reason the lower earner usually claims earlier while the higher earner waits.
Frequently asked questions
Should both spouses delay Social Security?
Usually only the higher earner needs to wait to 70, because the survivor keeps the larger check. Both waiting can make sense when both benefits are large and similar, both of you are healthy, and you have other money to live on until 70.
Can I claim Social Security at 62 and keep working?
Yes, but before full retirement age benefits are held back once your earnings pass a yearly limit. The money is not lost; your benefit is recalculated upward at full retirement age.
How is my Social Security benefit calculated?
From your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for wage growth. Years with no earnings count as zero, so working a few more years can raise the benefit if they replace low years.
Questions to ask your advisor
- Which of us should delay, and what does the survivor receive if the other dies first?
- Have we found the years when Roth conversions cost the least, and is there a written plan to use them?
- If our RMDs began today, what would they set off besides income tax: taxable Social Security, Medicare surcharges, or both?
- What happens to our Medicare premiums and our tax bracket when one of us dies?
More retirement questions: When can I retire, and will I have enough?
Related questions
Want to see these numbers for your own situation?
A first conversation is a diagnostic, not a presentation. Schedule a conversation or read Chapter 1 of Financial Fortress.
This page is general education, not advice for your situation. Social Security, tax and Medicare rules change; figures reflect 2026 rules. Triathlon Partners LLC is a registered investment adviser in Connecticut and New York. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.