Does Social Security increase monthly for delayed retirement or only yearly?

Social Security retirement benefits increase for EACH MONTH you delay claiming, not just yearly. From 62 to FRA (Full Retirement Age, which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later), your benefit increases approximately 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months of delay, and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month. After FRA, you earn Delayed Retirement Credits of 2/3 of 1% per month (8% per year) until age 70. So yes, waiting 63 and 4 months instead of exactly 63 would give you 4 months of additional credits.

i waited til 64 and 9 months to take mine and yeah every month counts! my sister took hers right at 62 and gets like $450 less than me every month. big difference over time

Just adding that the monthly increase isn't exactly the same each month. The formula is a bit complicated, but the SSA calculates it precisely. Your benefit estimation statement actually shows the different amounts at 62, FRA, and 70, but doesn't show all the months in between.

One thing to consider beyond just the monthly increase calculation is your overall life expectancy and financial needs. While delaying gives you more per month forever, claiming earlier means more checks total (though smaller ones). The rough "break-even" point is usually around age 80-82, where the total benefits received would equal out. If you expect to live well beyond that, waiting generally pays off better in total.

Has anyone here actually CALLED the SSA to get a personalized calculation? I tried calling for weeks and couldn't get through. Just kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting 2+ hours.

don't forget abt taxes too..if ur still working when u claim ss, they might reduce ur benefits OR u might pay more taxes depending on ur income..happened to my brother in law

I found the SSA website calculator to be really helpful for seeing different filing ages. You can put in exact months, not just years: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

My husband and I were JUST talking about this last night! We're trying to coordinate our claiming strategies since I'm 62 and he's 60. It's so confusing trying to maximize our household benefits. From what I understand, for each month you delay, your benefit increases by a small percentage as others have mentioned. It's not the same percentage throughout though - it's higher after you reach Full Retirement Age than before.

Just want to add a practical tip for anyone trying to make this decision - you can actually change your mind within 12 months of filing! If you claim early and then realize you made a mistake, SSA allows you to withdraw your application once in your lifetime. You'd have to pay back all the benefits you received, but then you could re-file later at the higher amount. It's called "Form SSA-521" if anyone wants to look it up. Not saying you should count on this as a strategy, but it's good to know the option exists if life circumstances change unexpectedly after you file.

Great question and excellent discussion everyone! As a newcomer who's also approaching this decision, I wanted to add that the Social Security Administration recently updated their online tools to make these monthly calculations even more transparent. If you create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov, there's now a "Retirement Estimator" that shows projected benefits for every single month between age 62 and 70, not just the major milestones. What really surprised me when I used it was seeing how the monthly increases compound - it's not just about getting more money per month, but about how those higher payments continue for the rest of your life. For someone expecting to live 20+ years in retirement, even small monthly delays can add up to tens of thousands in lifetime benefits. The tool also factors in your actual earnings history, so it's much more accurate than the general percentage formulas. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't already!