I'm trying to figure out the best time to claim Social Security. I just reached my full retirement age. I am self-employed and enjoy my work. My mother and grandmother died at age 92, so that's what I'm figuring my longevity will be. My initial plan was to wait until age 70 to claim, and work until then. Then I started thinking, what if I work those three years AND claim next year. I can more than make up for the benefits shortfall by working and there's no penalty because I've reached full retirement age. It seems that this would be the best plan but in all my research online I've not seen anyone mention doing this so I'm wondering if there's something I'm not considering.

Hi. The filing option that would assure you of receiving your highest possible monthly benefit rate for life is to wait until age 70 to claim your benefits. Your Social Security retirement benefit rate will climb by at least 8% for each year that you wait to start collecting until you reach age 70.

Social Security retirement benefits are based on an average of a person's highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings, so if you continue working you could potentially increase your monthly rate even more if you earn more in a year than you did in one of your previous highest 35 years. Any such increase would be in addition to the 8% per year increase mentioned above.

That said, there is no limit on earnings once you reach full retirement age (FRA), so if you think it would be better to start drawing your benefits sooner at a lower monthly rate you're free to do so. You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry