Social Security COLA increases - do I need to be collecting benefits at 62 to get the full amount?

You don't need to worry! COLA increases are applied to your benefit calculation whether you're already collecting or not. The Social Security Administration tracks these increases and applies them to your eventual benefit. Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) will be adjusted for all COLAs that occur after you turn 62, even if you wait until 67 or even 70 to start collecting. Your brother-in-law is mistaken. In fact, by waiting to claim, you're not only getting all the COLA increases, but you're also earning the delayed retirement credits of approximately 8% per year after your Full Retirement Age, which is a much bigger boost than any typical COLA increase.

ur brother in law doesnt know what hes talking about lol. ive seen this question before on here, the COLA gets added automatically to ur future benefit even if ur not taking SS yet. they keep track of all that stuff

Your question touches on a common misunderstanding about Social Security COLAs (Cost of Living Adjustments). Here's how it works: Once you reach 62 (your earliest eligibility age for retirement benefits), your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) will receive all COLA increases that occur from that point forward, regardless of when you actually claim benefits. So, for example: - You turn 62 in April 2025 - A COLA increase happens in January 2026 - You wait until age 67 (2030) to claim benefits Your eventual benefit at age 67 will include: 1. All COLA increases from age 62 onward 2. Plus the approximately 8% per year in delayed retirement credits you earn by waiting past your Full Retirement Age Your brother-in-law's advice would actually cost you money in the long run if you don't need the income immediately, as the delayed retirement credits typically outweigh the short-term gains of claiming early.

To be completely clear about this: once you reach age 62, ALL future COLAs are automatically applied to your benefit calculation, whether you're collecting benefits or not. This is handled automatically by SSA's systems. Your benefit at any claiming age will include: 1. Your basic benefit calculation (PIA) 2. Any COLAs that occurred after you turned 62 3. Any reductions for claiming early (before FRA) OR increases for delayed retirement credits (after FRA) So no, you don't lose any COLA increases by waiting to claim your benefits.

I went thru the EXACT same situation last yr!!! Was turning 62 and all my friends said TAKE IT NOW before the COLA happens or you'll miss out!!! Called SSA and spent 3 HOURS on hold just to get disconnected TWICE!!!! FINALLY got thru and they confirmed what others here are saying - COLAs will apply to your benefit calculation whether ur collecting or not once you hit 62. I decided to wait till 67 anyway because the math works better for my situation. The 8% per year increase after FRA is GUARANTEED - find me another investment with that kind of return!!!!

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! This community is amazing. I'm definitely sticking with my plan to wait until 67 now that I understand how COLAs work. Really appreciate all the detailed explanations about PIAs and delayed retirement credits too - this stuff is so confusing sometimes!

Ok I see lots of responses but nobody's mentioning an important point: COLA increases are usually TINY compared to what you LOSE by not taking benefits early! Last year was only 3.2% COLA but if you wait a whole YEAR to claim, you lose TWELVE MONTHS of payments you'll NEVER get back!!! Just saying, do the math for YOUR situation. Not everyone should wait!

My wife was confused about this same thing! We thought we had to claim right away to get the COLA. Turns out we didn't need to worry. Just FYI though - while COLA adjustments are applied whether you're collecting or not, earnings adjustments (if you're still working) only happen until you start collecting. At least that's what the SSA rep told us.