Have you thought about when you'll start taking Social Security? According to a new report from United Income, almost all American retirees claim Social Security at the wrong time. The upshot is that they will miss out on a collective $3.4 trillion in benefits before they die.
While they can tap their benefits as early as age 62, retirees could boost the size of their checks for every year they wait until age 70, when they can get the maximum benefit. The advantage in waiting is substantial: A person eligible for a $725 monthly check at 62 could get $1,280 if they wait to start at age 70.
Only 4 percent of U.S. retirees are waiting until age 70 to claim Social Security, but 57 percent should be doing so, the report calculated. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent start taking checks before turning 64, a time when ideally only 6.5 percent of retirees should be cashing checks. The lost income from these less-than-optimal decisions amounts to about $111,000 per household, the researchers estimate.
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