Here in Metro Atlanta, we’ve just had two back-to-back winter storm weekends. And with each forecast came the same familiar grocery store scene: shelves wiped clean. Bread. Milk. Eggs. Gone.
What everyone plans to do with all that milk and bread is a question for another day. (My money’s on a lot of French toast.)
But the instinct is always the same. Fear kicks in. The shelves might be empty tomorrow, so better grab what you can today. A bird in the hand, right?
Financial advisors often see the same instinct at work with Social Security. Headlines warn the program is “running out of money,” and people start wondering whether they should claim early, just in case.
The fear is understandable, but much like panic buying, it’s usually driven more by anxiety than by strategy or reality.
Today, only 14% of private industry workers have access to an employer-funded pension. For most retirees, Social Security has quietly become the closest replica to a guaranteed, inflation-adjusted paycheck that lasts as long as they do.
When something carries that much weight, it’s no surprise people feel protective of it and worry about the risk of losing it. The question is whether claiming early actually solves the problem they’re worried about, or amplifies it.
Claiming Social Security early can make sense in certain situations, such as a single individual who is in poor health, someone with limited savings, or other planning circumstances, such as having young or disabled children. But for many people, the instinct to claim early does more harm than good.
The decision is highly personal, but considering the trade-offs, it is often wiser long-term to wait until Full Retirement Age (FRA). Here’s why.
Social Security isn’t ‘going broke’ in the way people fear.
Despite alarming headlines, Trust Fund insolvency does not mean Social Security would stop paying benefits. If Social Security Trust Fund reserves were depleted, benefits would still be paid from ongoing payroll taxes and other income, though they could be reduced. The program has faced funding challenges before, and Congress has stepped in to address them to avoid benefit cuts, most notably in 1977 and 1983.
Claiming early doesn’t protect you from future changes, anyway.
Claiming early permanently reduces your base benefit; it’s a myth that claiming before any future reductions would occur due to insolvency grandfathers the claimant from exposure. So the reduced benefit would be reduced once again, only exacerbating the strain on other sources of retirement savings to make up the difference.
Early claiming locks in a smaller paycheck for life.
Claiming Social Security before your Full Retirement Age permanently reduces your monthly benefit. Waiting until FRA allows you to receive 100% of your earned benefit, and delaying beyond FRA increases it further through delayed retirement credits.
A smaller benefit means smaller COLAs forever.
Cost-of-living adjustments are applied as a percentage of your benefit, so a higher monthly benefit matters. Claiming early not only reduces your monthly check, but also shrinks the dollar impact of every future COLA for the rest of your life.
Your claiming age also matters to your spouse.
For married couples, especially when one spouse is the higher earner, claiming decisions affect more than one lifetime. A surviving spouse may receive up to 100% of the benefit the deceased worker was receiving or entitled to receive, including delayed retirement credits. That makes the higher earner’s claiming age a critical factor in long-term survivor income. An early claim by the higher-earning spouse translates to a smaller survivor benefit in a compressed tax bracket to boot. Ever heard of the widow’s penalty?
The bottom line?
Once you file, the options narrow. And because this choice can shape your income for the rest of your life (and potentially your spouse’s), it’s worth slowing down, running the numbers, and putting the decision in the context of your full retirement plan.
A knowledgeable financial and tax professional can help you stress-test different scenarios and decide whether claiming early truly supports your long-term security, or simply feels safer in the moment.
Heather’s Hitting the Road!
Join us at the 2nd annual Horizons 2026, hosted by the American College of Financial Services, from May 4-6th in Orlando. Heather Schreiber will be among the nation’s leading thought leaders in retirement income planning, sharing insights into the latest research, strategies, and future trends in retirement planning.
Click here to learn more and register online!
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As Founder and President of HLS Retirement Consulting, she partners with forward-thinking advisors nationwide to design strategy-based solutions that help clients grow, protect, and preserve their retirement income. She also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Heather Schreiber’s Social Security Advisor, a nationally distributed monthly newsletter focused on turning complex Social Security rules into strategy-driven, value-creating solutions that help advisors strengthen relationships, retain clients, and drive growth.
Off the clock, Heather is a hiker, humorist, and proud matriarch of a family of six (plus four furry sidekicks). Having recently joined the ranks of America’s 63 million family caregivers, she shares her own caregiving journey through her writing, offering empathy, perspective, and hard-won lessons to others walking a similar path. Her signature blend of technical expertise, human connection, and a touch of sass makes her a trusted voice for advisors guiding clients through life’s most important financial transitions.
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- ‘A Bird in the Hand’? Why Claiming Social Security Early Still Isn’t the Safety Net It Seems - February 17, 2026
- How much will Social Security really pay you in retirement? - February 7, 2026
