Will Social Security penalize me for not notifying them I'm delaying benefits until age 70?

Good news - you're completely fine! There's absolutely no requirement to notify Social Security that you're delaying benefits past your Full Retirement Age. The system is designed around you actively applying when you want benefits to start, rather than having to opt out of receiving them. By not applying, you've automatically been earning the delayed retirement credits of 8% per year (⅔% per month) since your FRA. Just make sure to apply about 3-4 months before you turn 70 so payments can start promptly in your benefit month.

ur good dont worry about it! SSA doesnt care if u didnt tell them anything. I waited til 69 to take mine and never told anyone anything until i was ready. just apply when ur ready to start

Just to add a practical point - while you don't need to notify them when delaying, you SHOULD create a my Social Security account online if you haven't already. That way you can check your earnings record and get benefit estimates. I found an error in mine when I checked at 67 and was able to get it fixed before I applied at 69. Would have lost about $60/month if I hadn't caught it!

I was in the same boat last year! Actually thought I needed to file some kind of 'intent to delay' paperwork too. The SSA website isn't super clear about this stuff. One thing I learned - once you hit 70, there's absolutely no benefit to waiting any longer. The delayed retirement credits stop accumulating at 70, so definitely apply a few months before your 70th birthday.

DONT BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE SAYING EVERYTHING IS FINE!! The SSA is NOTORIOUS for creating problems out of nothing! I delayed until 68 and they tried telling me I should have filed a 'non-application' form!!! Had to FIGHT with three different representatives before one finally admitted this wasn't actually required. The system is DESIGNED to confuse people!!

There's no penalty for not notifying them, but on a related note, did you enroll in Medicare at 65? That's completely separate from your Social Security retirement benefits decision, and there CAN be penalties if you didn't sign up for Medicare Part B during your initial enrollment period (unless you had qualifying coverage through an employer).

When I was trying to reach SSA to ask about delaying benefits last year, I spent HOURS on hold and eventually got disconnected THREE TIMES. So frustrating!! Eventually my neighbor told me about this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person in like 20 minutes. Saved me so much time and headache! They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Might be helpful when you're ready to actually apply.

To give you some specific numbers: By waiting until 70, you'll receive 132% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit you would have received at your Full Retirement Age. That's a significant increase that will continue for the rest of your life and will also increase the potential survivor benefit for your spouse if you're married. When you do apply, you can do so online at ssa.gov, by calling 1-800-772-1213, or by scheduling an in-person appointment at your local office. The online application typically takes about 15-20 minutes to complete.

Has anyone else noticed that their estimated benefit amount on the SSA website changes randomly? Mine went down by $200/month last year with NO explanation, then magically went back up three months later. I don't trust ANY of their calculations and I'm worried the same will happen to you when you finally apply at 70!

my uncle waited til 70 too and got the max amount so ur making a smart choice dont worry about the notification thing