Most people treat the Social Security claiming decision as a simple retirement checkbox. Pick an age, file the paperwork, and move on. But if you genuinely expect to live into your late nineties or beyond, this single choice could be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. The math changes dramatically the longer you live. Planning for a century of life is no longer the wild fantasy it once was. On average, a woman reaching age 65 today lives to age 87, and a man lives to age 84, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Those are averages. If you have good genes, healthy habits, and medical care on your side, the actual number could be far higher. That’s precisely why getting your claiming strategy right matters so much.
Understanding the Claiming Window: Age 62 to 70
Individuals can claim old-age Social Security benefits as early as age 62, and monthly benefits increase as one delays claiming up to age 70, but the so-called full retirement age (FRA), currently 67, is the age at which an individual can claim a monthly benefit equal to their primary insurance amount (PIA). This eight-year window is where the real strategy lives.
For every month before FRA that a retiree claims benefits, the Social Security Administration permanently reduces that person’s monthly benefit amount; for every month after FRA that an individual waits to claim benefits, SSA permanently increases the benefit amount. That permanence is what makes the decision so consequential for long-lived individuals.
Claiming Social Security at 62 reduces your monthly benefit by as much as 30% compared to your full retirement age. Your full retirement age is when you’re eligible to receive 100% of your benefit amount. Waiting beyond full retirement age increases your benefit by about 8% per year until age 70. Delaying until age 70 can increase your monthly Social Security payments by up to 24% compared to claiming at full retirement age.
The Dollar Gap Between Age 62 and Age 70
According to data from the Social Security Administration, the average monthly benefit for individuals who waited until age 70 in 2024 was $3,235. This amount is $1,900 higher per month than the benefit received by those who began collecting at age 62, the earliest eligible age. That gap is not trivial.
The difference in 2026 between the maximum benefit for someone who retires early at 62 versus waiting until 70 is $2,212. Stretched across two or three decades of retirement, those monthly differences compound into a staggering lifetime total.
In 2024, just over 3.7 million retired workers filed for Social Security benefits. Of those, only 8.7 percent, approximately 323,376 people, were age 70 or older when they submitted their claim. That means roughly nine out of ten retirees may be receiving less than what they could have obtained by waiting. For someone planning to live to 100, that early claim could be one of the most expensive financial decisions they ever make.
The Break-Even Point: When Waiting Starts to Win
If you live long enough, the cumulative benefits from the later, higher start will eventually catch up with the sum of reduced payments you can start drawing earlier. That catch-up moment is called the break-even age, at which the dollar value of claiming benefits later surpasses the value of taking them early.
The break-even between claiming at 62 and claiming at 67 is around age 78. Meanwhile, the break-even between claiming at 67 and claiming at 70 is around age 82, and the break-even between claiming at 62 and claiming at 70 is around age 80.
For someone who plans to live to 100, passing all three of those break-even markers is not just possible. It’s the likely scenario. Because Social Security provides guaranteed income for life, it’s especially valuable when you reach age 80 and beyond. Claiming benefits at your full Social Security benefit age or later could be a good way to secure your monthly income during your later years.
Why the 8% Annual Delay Credit Is So Powerful
Waiting to collect Social Security benefits can increase your annual payment by 8% on average for each year you delay. Delayed retirement credits add up until you reach age 70, at which point your benefit amount stops increasing. Few guaranteed financial returns come anywhere close to that rate.
If you have longevity in your genes and have the financial resources to pay for expenses from sources other than Social Security, this retirement income strategy could significantly boost your lifetime income. The operative word there is “guaranteed.” Unlike stock market returns, the 8% credit is baked in by law.
People who’ve already claimed can actually delay gratification by suspending their Social Security at FRA for a while, then restart their claim. The net result is a boost of monthly payments by 8% per year. This suspension strategy is a lesser-known option that gives some retirees a second chance to maximize their benefits.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments: The Inflation Multiplier
One of the most underappreciated features of Social Security for long-lived retirees is the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. The purpose of the COLA is to ensure that the purchasing power of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits is not eroded by inflation.
The 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment will begin with benefits payable to nearly 71 million Social Security beneficiaries in January 2026. Over the last decade, the cost-of-living adjustment increase has averaged about 3.1 percent.
Here’s the key insight for centenarian planning: a higher base benefit earns a larger COLA in absolute dollar terms every single year. Someone collecting $3,235 a month receives a much bigger inflation bump than someone collecting $1,335. The gap between early and late claimers grows wider every year, not smaller.
Spousal and Survivor Benefits: The Couple’s Equation
For married couples, the claiming decision extends well beyond one person’s lifetime. Waiting as long as you can before you claim could make sense if you are married, are the higher earner in the household, and want your surviving spouse to keep the highest monthly benefit after you die.
For married couples, the break-even calculation transforms almost entirely when you factor in survivor benefits. The surviving spouse inherits the higher earner’s benefit for life after one spouse dies.
For married couples, it generally makes sense for the higher earner to delay filing. This ensures the person with the highest wage base receives their maximum benefit. If the high earner dies first, the surviving spouse can choose to receive the deceased spouse’s higher benefit. That survivor protection can be critical for a spouse who might live decades longer.
Health, Genetics, and the Longevity Bet
No strategy exists in a vacuum. Your personal health picture matters enormously here. Health status, longevity, and retirement lifestyle are three variables that can play a role in your decision about when to claim your Social Security benefits. Generally, many people who suffer from poor health decide to claim early, as they don’t anticipate that they will live into their 90s.
Many retirement experts suggest longevity is the most important risk in retirement because it can amplify all other risks. Longevity risk cuts both ways: live too long and outlive your savings, or claim too early and lock in a permanently smaller check.
The steady longevity increases shown in research have not been shared evenly across the income distribution, and the life-expectancy gap between upper- and lower-income individuals has grown over time. One study found that, for men born in 1930, those in the highest income quintile had a life expectancy at age 50 that was 5.1 years longer than those in the lowest quintile. For men born in 1960, that discrepancy had grown to 12.7 years. If you have higher income and better access to healthcare, the case for waiting strengthens further.
The Investment Return Factor: Does It Change the Math?
Some financial planners argue that claiming early and investing the proceeds could beat delayed claiming. The reality is more nuanced than that framing suggests. At a 5% assumed return, the break-even for claiming at 62 versus 67 shifts from age 79 to approximately age 84 or 85. At a 6% return, it can push past 87. This matters if you do not need the money to live on.
Most people at 62 do not invest their Social Security checks. If that describes your situation, the original break-even math holds. For most ordinary retirees, the investment return counterargument is more theoretical than practical.
The deeper issue is risk. Stock returns are not guaranteed. Social Security’s 8% delay credit is. For someone planning to live to 100 and worried about outliving their portfolio, the guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income of a maximized Social Security benefit is difficult to replicate in the market at any reasonable cost.
Social Security’s Financial Future: What Long-Lived Claimers Need to Know
No article on Social Security strategy would be complete without addressing the program’s financial outlook, which has grown more uncertain in recent years. The trustees project that Social Security’s primary trust fund will be depleted in 2033. Unless Congress acts, current and future beneficiaries alike will see their benefits cut by 23%.
The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund is now projected to be exhausted in Fiscal Year 2032, roughly one year earlier than was estimated in 2025. The CBO estimates that this would result in an immediate across-the-board benefit cut of 28% in 2033, the first full year after exhaustion.
An aging population is a major contributor to the problem: In 1960, there were more than five workers paying Social Security taxes per beneficiary, but that ratio has dropped to less than three-to-one. Still, it’s worth noting that even under a depletion scenario, the program would continue paying a large portion of scheduled benefits. Complete elimination of Social Security is not projected by any mainstream analysis.
The Practical Strategy for Aspiring Centenarians
If you genuinely believe you will live well into your nineties or beyond, the weight of evidence points in one clear direction. You may be eligible to collect Social Security as early as 62, but waiting until age 70 yields greater benefits for most people. For those with high longevity expectations, that conclusion is even stronger.
Your benefit increases the longer you wait to claim, up to age 70, and is adjusted annually with the cost of living. If you live into your 80s but claim at age 62 instead of your full retirement age or later, your total lifetime benefits are lower by thousands of dollars. For a 100-year-old, those “thousands” could be well into six figures.
The best claiming age depends on your specific situation, including your health, income needs, and expected lifespan. Deciding when to take Social Security depends heavily on your circumstances. There is no one-size-fits-all answer, but the math consistently favors delay for those who expect to live significantly longer than average. A conversation with a qualified financial planner who understands longevity planning is a worthwhile investment before filing.
Living to 100 is increasingly a real planning scenario, not a remote fantasy. The Social Security system was not designed with centenarians as the primary case, but the rules still work powerfully in their favor – if they wait. Patience, in this particular decision, has one of the most reliable payoffs in all of personal finance.
