What independent expert research recommends claiming Social Security at age 70 to maximize lifetime benefits?

Hey there—turns out a bunch of brainy economists and retirement researchers have crunched the numbers, and they keep pointing in the same direction: waiting until 70 can really boost your lifetime Social Security payout. Here’s a quick tour of the independent research that backs that up.

• Boston College Center for Retirement Research: A study found that claiming at 70 maximizes your monthly benefit, yet only about 10% of people actually do it [1].
• National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and Larry Kotlikoff: An NBER working paper showed that 91.6% of household heads would optimize their lifetime benefits by waiting until 70 [2]. The same paper recommends that the vast majority of workers delay to 70 [10], and another NBER study found that delaying to 70 yields a monthly benefit 32% higher than claiming at 66 [9]. Economist Larry Kotlikoff points out that starting at 70 gives you a 76% larger inflation-adjusted monthly check than starting at 62 [3], and he’s long said delaying through 70 is the best strategy for most folks [4].
• Wade Pfau and Retirement Researcher: Independent researcher Wade Pfau and his team note that age 70 delivers the maximum possible monthly benefit (thanks to delayed retirement credits) [5][14]—up to 24% more each month than claiming at full retirement age [15]. They add that this approach is particularly powerful if you’re in good health and have other income to rely on while you wait [16].
• Break-even age research: Multiple analyses look at the “break-even age”—the point when lifetime benefits from delaying finally beat taking benefits earlier. Those studies generally put the break-even in the late 70s to early 80s [8][12]. Wade Pfau’s research finds the crossover for singles is typically around 80 to 83 [13]. So if you tend to live longer than average, the numbers really tilt toward waiting [7].

A 2022 study mentioned by CNBC also notes that experts generally recommend waiting until 70 [11].

Of course, your own health, cash needs, and other income can shift the picture—these are big-picture findings [16]. But if you can swing it, the independent research sure makes a strong case that sitting tight until 70 helps you squeeze the most out of Social Security over a long retirement.