Do I still get COLA increases on Social Security if I've delayed claiming past FRA?

Yes, you absolutely get COLA increases even while you're delaying benefits past your FRA! The SSA applies the annual COLA to your benefit amount regardless of whether you're collecting yet or not. So when you finally do claim, your benefit will include all COLAs that occurred since you turned 62. This is on top of the 8% per year delayed retirement credits you're earning by waiting past your FRA. It's actually a really smart strategy if you can afford to wait.

i waited til 70 to collect and got all the colas plus the extra 24% for waiting past my fra. best decision ever. now getting $4150/mo which woulda been like $2800 if i took it at 67

The previous answers are correct, but I wanted to add some technical details. The COLA is applied to your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount you'd receive at your Full Retirement Age. Then, when you decide to claim benefits, the delayed retirement credits (DRCs) are applied on top of your COLA-adjusted PIA. For example, if your PIA at 67 was $3,000, and there's a 3% COLA the following year, your PIA becomes $3,090. If you wait until 68 to claim, you'll get that $3,090 plus 8% in DRCs, making your monthly benefit approximately $3,337. If there's another 2.5% COLA the next year, your PIA becomes $3,167, and claiming at 69 would give you 16% in DRCs on top of that, etc.

Yes you DEF get the COLA! My husband and I both delayed till 69 and we got all the increases from inflation AND the extra 16% for waiting. BUT make sure you understand that Medicare doesn't wait - you should still sign up at 65 for Medicare even if you delay SS!!! We messed that up and had to pay a penalty. Don't make our mistake!!!

So glad you asked this question because I was wondering the exact same thing! I'm 66 and trying to decide whether to take benefits now or wait. My financial advisor told me it's better to take it now because of "opportunity cost" of missing out on that money for 3-4 years. But if I get both the 8% increase AND the COLA increases while waiting, that changes my calculations. Does anyone know if the break-even point calculations that financial advisors use include the COLA factor?

My sister said you only get cola if your already getting checks. She got bad advice from someone at SS office who told her to take benefits at 62!!! Don't trust what they say there.

Im having THE WORST time trying to get through to SSA to ask questions like this!! Been trying for WEEKS to talk to someone about my application status. Busy signals, disconnects, or 2+ hour wait times that end in nothing. So frustrating!!!!

my cousin works for ssa and says sometimes the cola is bigger than the 8% delay credit depending on inflation. last years cola was what, like 8.7%? that was higher than waiting benefit. but ya still get both

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - don't forget about taxes! Depending on your other income, up to 85% of your SS benefits might be taxable. If you're still working and delay benefits, you might end up in a lower tax bracket when you finally do claim if you're retired by then. Something else to factor into your decision.

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who delayed until 70 - you definitely get all the COLAs while waiting! I delayed from 2019 to 2022 and my benefit included every single COLA increase that happened during those years. The SSA website has a section called "Cost-of-Living Adjustment" that explains this, but you have to dig for it. What really helped me was creating a spreadsheet to track my estimated benefit growth each year including both the 8% delayed credits AND the annual COLAs. Made it much easier to see the actual dollar impact of waiting. Good luck with your decision!

This is such valuable information! I'm 65 and was planning to claim at my FRA next year, but reading about everyone's experiences with delaying is making me reconsider. The fact that you get both the 8% delayed credits AND the COLAs while waiting is huge - I had no idea the benefit amount kept growing from inflation adjustments too. My main concern is what happens if there's a major change to Social Security in the next few years. Are there any protections for people who are already past their FRA but haven't claimed yet? I don't want to delay and then find out the rules changed and I missed out on benefits I could have locked in earlier.

I can confirm from personal experience that you absolutely keep getting COLAs while delaying! I'm currently 68 and have been delaying since my FRA last year. When I check my Social Security statement online, I can see that my estimated benefit amount has increased both from the delayed retirement credits AND from the 2024 COLA. It's honestly one of the best-kept secrets about Social Security - most people don't realize their benefit keeps growing from inflation adjustments even while they're waiting. The SSA updates your benefit calculation automatically, so when you do finally claim, everything is already factored in. Just make sure you're tracking your estimated benefits on the SSA website so you can see the growth happening in real time!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! As someone who just turned 66 and is considering delaying benefits, I had no idea that COLAs continue to apply to your benefit amount even while you're not collecting. I've been wrestling with this decision for months, worried that waiting might mean missing out on cost-of-living increases. Now I understand that I get the best of both worlds - the guaranteed 8% delayed retirement credits AND protection from inflation through annual COLAs. It's amazing how this isn't more widely publicized by SSA. I'm definitely going to create that tracking spreadsheet that Evelyn mentioned and keep monitoring my benefit growth online. Thanks to everyone for sharing your real experiences - it's so much more valuable than trying to decode the SSA website!

This is such great information! I'm currently 68 and have been delaying since my FRA at 66. I can confirm that you absolutely do get COLAs while delaying - I've watched my estimated benefit grow on the SSA website each year from both the 8% delayed credits AND the annual cost-of-living adjustments. What surprised me most was how substantial the combined effect is. For example, with the higher COLAs we've had recently (like that 8.7% in 2023), plus the 8% annual delayed credits, my benefit has grown much faster than I expected. I'm planning to claim at 70 next year and the math really works out well. One tip - if you call SSA, ask them to walk you through exactly how your benefit is calculated with both factors included. It helped me understand that the COLA gets applied to your Primary Insurance Amount first, then the delayed retirement credits get calculated on top of that adjusted amount. The combination is really powerful if you can afford to wait!

I'm 64 and still working, so this discussion is perfectly timed for me! Reading through everyone's experiences has been eye-opening - I had no idea that COLAs continue to be applied while you're delaying benefits past FRA. My employer's HR department told me I should claim at my FRA to "get what I can while Social Security is still solvent," but now I'm wondering if that's outdated advice. The combination of 8% delayed retirement credits PLUS ongoing COLA protection sounds much more attractive than I originally thought. I'm curious though - for those of you who delayed, how did you handle the psychological aspect of potentially "leaving money on the table" each month? I know the math works out in the long run, but did any of you have second thoughts during those years of not collecting? Also, has anyone here used any online calculators that actually include COLA projections in their delay-vs-claim-now analysis? Most of the basic ones I've found seem to ignore inflation adjustments entirely.

This has been such an informative discussion! I'm 63 and was originally planning to claim at my FRA, but after reading everyone's real-world experiences, I'm seriously reconsidering. The fact that you get BOTH the 8% delayed retirement credits AND the COLA increases while waiting is a game-changer that I never fully understood before. What really strikes me is how many people mentioned that even SSA employees sometimes give incorrect information about this - it makes me realize how important it is to get advice from multiple sources and do your own research. I'm particularly interested in what Ashley mentioned about fee-only financial advisors using more sophisticated modeling that includes COLA projections. It sounds like the basic online calculators are really misleading people by ignoring inflation adjustments entirely. For those who delayed, would you recommend paying for that kind of professional analysis, or were you able to make the decision confidently with just the information available on the SSA website and forums like this? I'm also curious whether any of you factored in potential healthcare costs or long-term care needs when deciding how long to delay. Thanks to everyone for sharing such detailed personal experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world insight that's impossible to find on official government websites!

As someone who's been researching this exact question for months, I can't thank everyone enough for sharing their real experiences! I'm 65 and was completely torn about when to claim - my accountant said take it at FRA, but my brother (who's already retired) keeps telling me to wait until 70. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly eye-opening, especially learning that COLAs continue to compound while you're delaying. I had no idea that your benefit amount keeps growing from inflation adjustments even when you're not collecting - somehow I thought you'd miss out on those increases if you weren't already receiving payments. The math examples people shared here are so much clearer than anything I found on the SSA website. I think I'm convinced to delay now, but I'm definitely going to create one of those tracking spreadsheets to monitor my benefit growth year by year. Has anyone found a good template for tracking both the delayed credits AND the COLA increases together? It would be helpful to see the combined effect in one place rather than trying to calculate it manually each year.

This thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm 66 and just reached my FRA last month, so I'm in almost the exact same situation as Hunter. I had been leaning toward claiming right away because I was worried about "missing out" on benefits, but reading everyone's real experiences here has completely changed my perspective. The fact that COLAs continue to apply while you're delaying benefits is huge - I honestly had no idea this was how it worked and feel like this should be plastered all over the SSA website in big bold letters! What really sealed it for me was seeing the actual numbers people shared, especially Lauren mentioning going from $2800 to $4150 by waiting until 70. That's life-changing money. I'm still working part-time and don't desperately need the income yet, so I think I'm going to follow the advice here and delay. My main question now is whether I should set some kind of deadline for myself (like age 69 or 70) or just play it by ear based on my health and financial situation each year. Has anyone here had success with setting a firm target age, or is it better to stay flexible? Thanks again to everyone for sharing such detailed personal experiences - this community is amazing!

As someone who's been working in retirement planning for over 15 years, I can confirm everything that's been shared here - you absolutely do get COLA increases while delaying benefits past your FRA! This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Social Security strategy. The way it works is that your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) gets adjusted annually for COLA regardless of whether you're collecting benefits, and then when you finally claim, the delayed retirement credits are applied to that COLA-adjusted amount. So you're getting compound growth from both sources. What many people don't realize is that this makes delaying even more powerful during periods of higher inflation, like we've seen recently. The 8.7% COLA in 2023 plus the 8% delayed credit meant some people saw their potential benefits grow by over 16% in a single year! For anyone considering delaying, I'd strongly recommend using the SSA's online benefit calculators AND creating your own tracking spreadsheet to see how both factors work together. The decision should always be based on your individual health, financial needs, and family longevity, but understanding that you get BOTH inflation protection AND delayed credits is crucial for making an informed choice.

As a newcomer to this community, I have to say this thread has been absolutely incredible for someone trying to understand Social Security strategy! I'm 64 and was completely confused about whether COLAs apply while delaying benefits - my local SSA office gave me conflicting information when I called last month. Reading through everyone's real experiences here has been so much more helpful than trying to navigate the official website. What really stands out to me is how this COLA benefit while delaying seems to be such a well-kept secret. I've talked to several friends about Social Security planning and NONE of them knew about this! It's honestly a bit frustrating that such important information isn't more widely publicized. I'm definitely going to delay now after seeing the actual numbers people have shared. One question for the group - has anyone dealt with family members or financial advisors who tried to talk you out of delaying because they also didn't know about the COLA protection? I'm getting pushback from my kids who think I should "take the money while it's still there" but after reading this discussion, I feel like delaying is actually the safer long-term strategy. Thanks to everyone for creating such an informative discussion!