Question: I don’t see where the extra 8 percent comes from if you wait until 70 to collect Social Security if you quit working and have no income from age 65 until that time. The calculator at the Social Security site does not reflect that situation. It assumes that I will be making the same amount of money all the way up to 70. If I am not earning an income after age 65 should I take Social Security at 66 or will I still get the extra 8 percent by waiting until 70? I haven’t been able to find a concrete answer to this situation yet.
Answer: Commercial calculators permit entering your future earnings. The 8 percent per year (32 percent over four years) increase to your real (inflation-adjusted) benefits is due to the delayed retirement credit. Your receipt of delayed retirement credits doesn’t depend on your working into the future. But if you do work and raise your calculated Primary Insurance Amount via the Recomputation of Benefits, that will be icing on the cake.
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