Social Security delayed retirement credits after 68 - husband doesn't believe 8% yearly increase

Your husband is definitely confused about how Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs) work. You are 100% correct! The 8% per year increase (actually 2/3 of 1% per month) applies whether he's working or not between FRA and age 70. Here's the simple explanation you can share with him: After Full Retirement Age (which is 67 for people born after 1960), Social Security gives you bonus credits just for waiting to claim, regardless of whether you're working or not. These credits increase your benefit by 8% per year until age 70. So if his estimated benefit at 68 would be $2,500/month, and he waits until 70 to claim, his benefit would grow to approximately $2,900/month ($2,500 + 16%). That difference adds up to $4,800 more income per year for the rest of his life! Show him the official SSA page on delayed retirement credits: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html

I went through this EXACT same thing with my husband last year! He was convinced that he needed to apply right when he stopped working at 68. I finally took him to our local SSA office for them to explain it, but we waited 3 hours only to be told to make an appointment for the following month. So frustrating! I eventually found a solution using Claimyr.com - they connected us directly to an SSA agent by phone who explained everything. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent walked my husband through his specific numbers and showed how much more he'd get by waiting. Seeing the actual dollar amount increase made all the difference for him. BTW, my husband finally agreed to wait until 70, and he thanks me now for insisting! It ended up adding almost $450 per month to his benefit for life.

People get confused about this ALL THE TIME. The 8% per year (or 2/3% per month) increase for delaying Social Security applies whether you're working or retired, whether you're earning income or not. It's basically the government's way of rewarding people who reduce the strain on the system by starting their benefits later. One thing to clarify - the actual increase might not be EXACTLY 16% total over two years due to how they calculate the monthly amounts, but it will be very close to that. The exact calculation depends on his birth year and month. If you have access to his my Social Security account online, you can log in and see exactly what his benefit amounts would be at different claiming ages. That might be the most convincing way to show him the difference.

Something nobody mentioned - if your husband has been the higher earner throughout your marriage, waiting until 70 also maximizes your potential survivor benefit if he passes away before you. My financial advisor emphasized this point when we were deciding when my husband should claim.

My ss payment went up every year even after i stopped working. my neighbor tried telling me that was wrong but the SSA person confirmed it when i went in for something else. its true what your saying but just wait till hes 70 to apply dont bother trying to explain it to him lol

THE SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO PAY OUT THE SAME AMOUNT EITHER WAY!! The gov't isn't stupid - they know the average lifespan and set the percentages accordingly. If you take it earlier you get more checks but smaller amounts. Take it later you get bigger checks but fewer of them before you die. STATISTICALLY it all equals out around age 80-82. There's no free money here people!!! If your family tends to live into your 90s then yeah waiting might make sense. But if your health is bad or family doesn't live long, take it early!! SSA doesn't care about YOU, they care about THEIR BOTTOM LINE!!

has anyone actually used the ssa website calculator?? when I try to use it I can't make heads or tails of the results. just a bunch of numbers that don't explain anything. Also the monthly amount it shows is like WAY less than what I thought I would get. Kind of freaking out about that now tbh

Update: I showed my husband all your comments and the SSA link about delayed retirement credits. He was surprised but still skeptical. We logged into his my Social Security account together and looked at his projected benefit amounts at different ages. Seeing the actual dollar difference ($475 more per month if he waits until 70!) finally convinced him. He's now planning to use some of our savings to bridge the gap between 68-70 and wait to claim his Social Security. Thank you everyone for your help explaining this! And special thanks to the person who mentioned the survivor benefit aspect - that was something we hadn't considered at all.

Congratulations on getting through to your husband! That $475/month difference is huge - you're absolutely right to have pushed for this understanding. Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful for others reading this thread: if you're using savings to bridge the gap between retirement and claiming SS, make sure you're withdrawing from the right accounts tax-wise. For example, if you have traditional 401k/IRA money, those years before claiming Social Security might be a great time for Roth conversions since your income will be lower. A financial advisor can help optimize which accounts to tap during that 68-70 bridge period. The tax savings could be substantial and make the delayed claiming strategy even more beneficial!