Here’s What Happens When You Claim Social Security After Age 70

Not everybody is eligible for Social Security. To be able to collect benefits in retirement, you must work and pay taxes on your earnings to the point where you accumulate 40 work credits in your lifetime.

But if you’re entitled to Social Security based on your work history, you should know that you can sign up for benefits at any point once you turn 62.

Of course, if you file at 62, you’ll end up reducing your monthly benefits for life. But at least you’ll get your money sooner.

On the other hand, if you wait until full retirement age (FRA) to claim Social Security, you won’t have to worry about a benefits reduction. FRA is 67 for anyone who’s born in 1960 or later.

You can also delay Social Security past FRA for boosted benefits. For each year you do, up until age 70, your benefits get to grow 8%.

But you may be wondering what happens when you claim Social Security after turning 70. And the answer is, in that situation, you risk losing out on critical retirement income. So your best bet is to simply not wait that long.

Don’t delay Social Security longer than necessary

While claiming Social Security at age 70 can be advantageous, filing after age 70 could hurt you. The problem, of course, is that Social Security enrollment is not automatic.

It would be nice if there were some sort of system that triggered a claim on people’s 70th birthdays so they wouldn’t lose out on any money. But that’s not how the program works.

Instead, you have to actively claim benefits when you want to start getting them. But if you wait beyond age 70, you risk missing out on lifetime income, since you don’t get any financial boost for a Social Security claim that’s delayed beyond age 70.

Now one good thing is that Social Security will typically pay recipients up to six months of retroactive benefits. So let’s say you don’t sign up at age 70, but you sign up six months later. In that situation, you should be able to get a lump sum of benefits dating back to your 70th birthday, which means you’re not out of money.

But if you don’t realize you were supposed to file for Social Security until age 71, suddenly, you risk losing out on six months of benefits. And that’s far from ideal.

It’s important to know the rules

It’s easy to see why you may be inclined to delay Social Security past FRA. But once you turn 70, there’s no sense in waiting, so it pays to set yourself a calendar reminder if necessary so you don’t forget to sign up.

It’s also a good idea to read up on Social Security’s many rules, even though that may not be the most entertaining way to spend an afternoon. The more you know about Social Security, and the better you understand how it works, the less likely you may be to make a mistake in the course of your filing — and lose out on money you should’ve collected.