Social Security Planning
The age and way you claim can mean a meaningful difference in your lifetime benefit. We help you weigh the trade-offs and coordinate Social Security with the rest of your retirement income.
How your Social Security benefit is calculated
Your monthly retirement benefit isn't a flat number — it's built from your own work history. Understanding how it's figured makes the claiming decisions that follow much easier to weigh.
Social Security starts with your highest-earning 35 years. Each year of past earnings is indexed to keep pace with wage growth, then those 35 years are averaged into a single figure called your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zeros and pull that average down.
That average is run through a weighted formula to produce your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the benefit you would receive at your full retirement age. The formula is deliberately tilted to replace a larger share of income for people who earned less over their careers. Your PIA becomes the baseline that claiming early reduces, or claiming later increases.
- Another working year above your current average can replace a zero or a low year and nudge your benefit up
- Cost-of-living adjustments are applied over time to help benefits keep pace with inflation
- You can review your own earnings record and estimates any time at ssa.gov — it is worth checking for errors
Claiming age: 62 vs. full retirement age vs. 70
You can start retirement benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. When you start is one of the few retirement choices that permanently changes your monthly income for the rest of your life — and, often, your surviving spouse's.
For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age (FRA) is 67. Claim before FRA and each month lowers your benefit; wait past FRA and you earn delayed retirement credits of roughly 8% per year up to age 70. After 70 there is no further increase, so there is no reason to wait longer than that.
| When you claim | Effect on your monthly benefit | May fit when… |
|---|---|---|
| Age 62 (earliest) | Permanently reduced — as much as roughly 25–30% below your full benefit | You need the income now, have health concerns, or expect a shorter life expectancy |
| Full retirement age (67) | 100% of your Primary Insurance Amount | You want your full benefit and are ready to stop or slow down work |
| Age 70 (latest to delay) | Increased by delayed retirement credits — the highest monthly amount available to you | You are in good health, have other income to bridge the gap, or want the largest survivor benefit for a spouse |
There is no single right age. It is a trade-off between more checks starting sooner and larger checks starting later, weighed against your health, your savings, whether you are still working, and your spouse's situation.
Spousal, survivor, and divorced-spouse benefits
Social Security is not only about your own record. For married couples, widows and widowers, and many divorced people, benefits based on a spouse's record can be a meaningful part of the plan.
Spousal benefits can be worth up to half of the higher earner's full-retirement-age amount when claimed at your own FRA — helpful when one spouse earned much more than the other. Survivor benefits can be worth up to 100% of what a deceased spouse was receiving, which is a key reason delaying the higher earner's benefit can protect the survivor for life.
- Spousal benefits are reduced if you claim them before your own full retirement age
- A surviving spouse generally keeps the larger of the two benefits, not both added together
- If you were married at least 10 years and are now divorced, you may be able to claim on an ex-spouse's record
- The order and timing of who claims when can change a couple's lifetime total — it is worth mapping out
Working while you claim — and how benefits are taxed
Two things often surprise people who claim early: an earnings limit while they are still working, and the fact that Social Security can be partly taxable.
The earnings test. If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, part of your benefit may be temporarily withheld once your earnings pass an annual limit set by Social Security. That money is not lost — when you reach FRA, your benefit is recalculated upward to give credit for what was withheld. After full retirement age there is no earnings limit at all, and you can work as much as you like with no reduction.
How benefits are taxed. Depending on your “combined income” (your other income plus part of your benefit), anywhere from none, up to 50%, or up to 85% of your Social Security may count as taxable income at the federal level. Connecticut has its own rules and exempts Social Security for many residents below certain income levels. Because these thresholds change, we point you to the current figures and coordinate with your tax preparer rather than quote a number that may be out of date.
Coordinating Social Security with Medicare and your other income
Social Security rarely stands alone. It works alongside Medicare, pensions, personal savings, and any annuities — and the pieces affect one another.
Most people become eligible for Medicare at 65. If you are already receiving Social Security, your Medicare Part B premium is typically deducted straight from your monthly check, and higher-income households can pay an income-related surcharge known as IRMAA. That means a decision about when to draw income from a retirement account can quietly affect what you pay for Medicare a year or two later.
Thinking through which accounts to tap first, when to claim Social Security, and how a pension or annuity fills the gaps can help your income last and keep more of it in your pocket. Our role is to help you see the whole picture and weigh the options — neutrally, with no pressure and no cost.
Because Medicare comes up here: we are an independent insurance agency, we do not offer every plan available in your area, and we are not connected with or endorsed by the federal government, CMS, or the SSA. Any product guarantees are backed by the issuing carrier.
Frequently asked questions
What's the best age to claim Social Security?
It depends on your health, other income and goals. Claiming as early as 62 permanently reduces your monthly benefit, waiting until full retirement age gives your full benefit, and delaying to age 70 increases it. We help you weigh the trade-offs for your situation.
Can my spouse claim benefits on my record?
Often yes — spousal and survivor benefits can be an important part of a couple's strategy. The rules are detailed, so we review how they apply to you.
Do you charge for Social Security planning?
No — the conversation is free and there is no obligation.
Let's figure it out together
Every situation is different. Tell us about yours and we'll recommend the right coverage — with no cost and no pressure.
How we help with Social Security