
Waiting until age 70 to claim Social Security is often described as the smartest move for retirees, since benefits increase the longer you delay. In fact, the maximum monthly Social Security retirement benefit in 2026 is $5,181 for those who claim at age 70. To put this in perspective, if you retire at full retirement age of 67, the max is $4,152, while retiring at 62 yields just $2,969.
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