Personal Finance

Don't Delay Social Security If These 3 Factors Apply to You

Maurie Backman

Published: February 21, 2025 3:45 pm

But while the idea of delaying Social Security might seem wise, there are some situations where it doesn’t make sense. Here’s when you specifically don’t want to hold off on taking benefits.

1. Your health is poor

The state of your health won’t necessarily determine how long you’ll live in retirement. But if you’re not in very good health, you may not end up living as long as the typical retiree. And your chances of living longer than the typical senior may be lower.

That’s why poor health should be a reason not to delay Social Security. When you delay Social Security, you get more money on a monthly basis, but not necessarily on a lifetime basis. And if you have reason to believe you won’t live all that long, claiming benefits earlier could result in more lifetime income for you.

For example, if your FRA is 67 with a $1,000 monthly benefit, delaying to 70 boosts it to $1,240. If you live to 80, you’d get $148,800 total from 70 versus $156,000 from 67, so claiming earlier pays off with a shorter life.

2. You’ve lost your job and can’t get rehired

It’s a hard thing to find a new job when you’re laid off later in life. Employers have a tendency to discriminate against older job candidates, even though it’s illegal to do so.

If you’ve lost your job at a later age, that’s a good reason not to delay Social Security. You may be inclined to find a new job so you can work longer and hold off on claiming benefits for a boost. But then, you risk having to settle for a job you aren’t happy with. And after a lifetime of hard work, you deserve much better. Per the AARP, older workers take longer to find jobs after layoffs, often over a year, making it tough to delay benefits.

3. Your job is harming your health and you need to quit

Maybe you haven’t lost your job and are able to keep working at your company for a good number of years more. But if your job is extremely stressful and harmful to your health, then you shouldn’t stick with it to keep the option of delaying Social Security on the table.

It’s a nice thing to boost your monthly benefits for the rest of your life. But if you shorten the rest of your life because of a ridiculously stressful job, then you won’t even get to enjoy the upside of those larger payments. Research shows chronic job stress raises heart disease and depression risks, so prioritizing health over delaying benefits can be wiser.

There’s nothing wrong with sticking out a decent job a few more years so you’re able to delay Social Security and lock in a larger benefit for life. But if your job is the opposite of decent — if it’s awful and miserable — then it’s probably not worth it. No amount of extra money is worth risking your health.