3 Moves That are Guaranteed to Shrink Your Social Security Check

  • by:
  • Source: USA TODAY
  • 05/06/2025

If you need your Social Security check to be as large as possible, you should avoid taking these misguided actions.

Social Security benefits are an important income source for many seniors. If you expect these benefits to play a big role in funding your retirement, you need to understand that certain actions could shrink your monthly payments.

Specifically, if you make these three moves, you'll end up with less money flowing into your bank account each month as a retiree.

1. Claiming benefits before age 70

The first move guaranteed to shrink your monthly Social Security check is claiming benefits before age 70. While you can start getting benefit checks as young as 62, this will make your payment much smaller.

See, you have a full retirement age, or FRA (which is 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959 and 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later). If you claim benefits at your full retirement age, you get your standard benefit based on earnings over your working life. However, for every month you claim benefits before your FRA, there's an early filing penalty. The penalty is pretty small each month — 5/9 of 1% for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for prior months — but it adds up quickly. Those who claim at 62 instead of 67, for example, will see a monthly payment that's 30% smaller, while claiming benefits even a year early leads to a 6.7% reduction.

Delaying a benefits claim has the opposite effect. Every month you delay the start of your benefits, you earn a delayed retirement credit that increases your monthly payments by 2/3 of 1%. Credits can't be earned after 70, though, so waiting until then gets you the maximum monthly payment, netting you 24% more than your standard benefit.

If you don't want to miss out on the chance to maximize your monthly checks, avoid claiming before 70. Of course, this doesn't always mean you'll get the most lifetime benefits, as you have to live long enough to make up for the years of missed checks to do that. Still, most retirees end up better off by waiting, and you can earn higher survivor benefits for your spouse if you're the higher earner and you delay.


Shrink Social Security by AI is licensed under

Help FAIRtax Become The Number One Issue in 2025

Enacting the FAIRtax must be a prominent topic in these times. We did it before, we can do it again, but we need your help!

Help out with a One-Time Contribution

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 – even $1,000 or more if you can possibly spare it – will help FAIRtax.org bring an end to the IRS and promote a FAIRtax. So, I urge you, please give as generously as you can.

Billing information (REQUIRED)

Payment information (REQUIRED)

To donate by check:
Americans for Fair Taxation
PO Box 4929
Clearwater, FL 33758

If you need to make changes to your existing Monthly Re-Occurring Donation with new card or billing address information, then Please call Adam Yomtov our New York State Co-Director. He is assisting with the administration of our donations, technology services, and website.

Please note: Inputting your new information at our website won't update your donation. The only way to update is by calling Adam Yomtov 917-689-3931 mobile.


Americans for Fair Taxation® is a 501(c)(4) non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization solely dedicated to replacing the current income tax system with a fair, simple and transparent national consumption tax – the FAIRtax® Plan. We rely entirely on contributions from concerned citizens like you who want a tax system that will generate jobs and stimulate the economy. Welcome to the FAIRtax team!

Connect

Share