You spend decades paying into Social Security, and for most people that monthly check is a big chunk of retirement income. As of late 2025, the average retired worker’s benefit was about $2,071 a month. That’s not something you want to accidentally shrink.
The rules are complicated, and it’s easy to just convince yourself you’ll sort it out later. But some decisions you make in your 50s and 60s can permanently change the size of your check, and your spouse’s, for the rest of your life.
Table of contents
- Claiming at 62 just because you can
- Taking benefits while you still work and ignoring the earnings test
- Letting gaps and low-earning years drag down your 35-year average
- Never checking or correcting your earnings record
- Missing spousal benefits when you’re married
- Missing divorced spousal benefits after a long marriage
- Overlooking survivor benefits after a spouse dies
- Remarrying without checking how it changes your benefits
- Forgetting that your Social Security can be taxed
- Ignoring how your claiming age affects your spouse’s future survivor check
- Not revisiting your benefits after major law changes
- Skipping your online account and basic fraud protections
- Learn how to stretch your retirement savings and maximize your Social Security benefits for a comfortable retirement:
Claiming at 62 just because you can
You can turn on retirement benefits as early as age 62. The catch: if your full retirement age is 67 (which is the case for people born in 1960 or later), claiming at 62 permanently cuts your monthly check by about 30%. That smaller amount doesn’t “reset” later. Every future cost-of-living increase is based on that reduced benefit.
If you wait past full retirement age, you earn delayed retirement credits, roughly 8% more per year up to age 70 for many workers. For someone whose full retirement benefit at 67 would be $1,000, claiming at 62 could drop that to about $700. Waiting until 70 could boost it to around $1,240. That’s a huge difference over a 20- or 30-year retirement.
The mistake isn’t “claiming early is always bad” as plenty of people need the income or have health issues. The mistake is filing at 62 just because you’re allowed to, without running basic scenarios on your expected lifespan, other savings, and whether a higher check later might give you more breathing room.
Taking benefits while you still work and ignoring the earnings test
If you claim benefits before full retirement age and keep working, there’s a yearly earnings limit. In 2026, if you’re under full retirement age the limit is $24,480; Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that amount. In the year you reach full retirement age, there’s a higher limit, $65,160 in 2026, and the withholding changes to $1 for every $3 above the limit.
These withheld checks aren’t gone forever; when you hit full retirement age, your benefit is recalculated to give you credit for months you didn’t actually receive benefits. But if you don’t plan ahead, you can be shocked to see your check drop or stop for months while you’re still paying the bills.
The earnings test doesn’t apply once you reach full retirement age, so the key is coordination. If you know you’ll keep working at a good income, it may make sense to delay claiming. If you really need to claim while working, keep a close eye on your expected wages for the year so you know how much of your check will actually show up and adjust your budget accordingly.
Letting gaps and low-earning years drag down your 35-year average
Your retirement benefit is based on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for wage inflation. If you have fewer than 35 years in the workforce, Social Security fills the missing years with zeros. Caregiving breaks, long periods of part-time work, or time spent in jobs not covered by Social Security can all drag down that average.
On top of that, you need at least 40 “credits”, roughly 10 years of work, just to qualify for a retirement benefit at all. Many people hit the 10-year mark and think they’re set, but that’s just the minimum. If you have, say, 25 years of earnings and 10 zeros, a few additional years of decent wages can replace those zeros and meaningfully increase your lifetime benefit.
The mistake is assuming “I’ve already worked enough” without looking at how many years of earnings are on your record and how strong they are. Before you decide to fully stop working, look at your Statement and ask: would a few more years at higher pay replace low or zero-earning years and bump up my check.
Never checking or correcting your earnings record
Social Security doesn’t magically know what you earned; it relies on what your employers and the IRS report. If a year of earnings is missing or under-reported and you never catch it, your benefit will likely be lower for life. Social Security itself tells workers to regularly review their earnings history for mistakes.
You can see your full earnings record and projected benefits by creating a free “my Social Security” account online. If something looks off, an employer missing, wages way lower than you remember, you can ask for a correction. Social Security explains that you may need proof like W-2 forms, pay stubs, or tax returns, and you can use Form SSA-7008 to request a fix.
Waiting until you’re 65 to look at this stuff makes it harder to find old paperwork. A simple habit of checking your online Statement once a year can catch errors early, when you still have records and time on your side.
Missing spousal benefits when you’re married
If you’re married, your retirement check isn’t the only one that matters. A spouse with a lower benefit may be able to receive up to 50% of the higher earner’s full retirement benefit as a spousal benefit. That spousal amount is based on the higher earner’s benefit at full retirement age, not on delayed retirement credits, and it’s reduced if the spouse claims before their own full retirement age.
Many couples never ask about this. The lower-earning spouse files on their own record at 62, ends up with a small check, and assumes that’s all there is. In reality, Social Security will compare your own benefit to any spousal benefit you qualify for and pay the higher amount, but only if they know your spouse’s work record and your marital status.
If you’re married now or were married in the past, make sure you list that history clearly when you file and ask what spousal amount you qualify for. For many couples, coordinating who claims when, instead of both filing early on their own records, can mean hundreds of extra dollars per month for the household.
Missing divorced spousal benefits after a long marriage
If you’re divorced, you may still be entitled to a benefit based on your ex’s work record, even if they’ve remarried and even if you haven’t spoken in years. In general, you may qualify if your marriage lasted at least 10 consecutive years, you’re 62 or older, your ex is at least 62 and eligible for benefits, and you’re currently unmarried.
The divorced spousal benefit can be up to 50% of your ex’s full retirement benefit, and your claim doesn’t reduce your ex’s check or their current spouse’s benefits. Yet plenty of divorced people never mention past marriages when they file. They assume it’s too messy, or they worry they need their ex’s permission. You don’t.
If you had one or more long marriages, write down the dates and keep your divorce paperwork handy before you apply. Tell the Social Security rep about each 10-plus-year marriage. Even if your own work history is strong, it’s worth asking what your divorced spousal benefit would be so you can compare especially if your ex was the higher earner.
Overlooking survivor benefits after a spouse dies
When a spouse dies, the surviving spouse and sometimes children may qualify for survivor benefits. A surviving spouse can often get up to 100% of the deceased worker’s benefit if they wait until full retirement age, or a reduced amount as early as age 60 (age 50 if disabled). Survivor benefits are based on the deceased worker’s benefit, including any delayed retirement credits they earned by waiting past full retirement age.
A common mistake is assuming, “I already have my own retirement benefit, so that’s that.” In fact, you usually get whichever is higher: your own retirement check or the survivor benefit. Widows and widowers can sometimes start one benefit early and switch to the other later, depending on the numbers and ages involved.
If you’ve lost a spouse or ex-spouse who had enough work credits, it’s worth asking Social Security to review your survivor options, even if you’re already receiving a benefit. Survivor rules are complex, but the potential increase to your monthly check can be substantial and lasts for life.
Remarrying without checking how it changes your benefits
Love is not a financial plan, but marriage can change your Social Security picture. If you’re receiving (or expect to receive) divorced spousal or divorced survivor benefits based on a former spouse, getting remarried before age 60 can cut off those benefits in many cases. Remarrying at age 60 or later usually lets you keep survivor benefits based on a deceased spouse.
People often rush or delay remarriage based on half-true stories: “You’ll lose everything if you marry again,” or “It doesn’t matter what age you remarry.” The reality depends on the type of benefit (spousal vs survivor), your age, and whether your new spouse has a strong work record of their own. You may lose access to an ex-spouse’s record but gain a higher future benefit on your new spouse’s record.
You shouldn’t make big life choices only around Social Security. But if you’re widowed or divorced and close to age 60, it’s smart to understand how the timing of a remarriage could affect your current or future checks. A quick call to Social Security before you make it official can save you from surprises later.
Forgetting that your Social Security can be taxed
Many retirees are shocked to learn that up to 85% of their Social Security benefits can be subject to federal income tax, depending on their “provisional income” basically, other income plus half of your Social Security. For single filers, taxes can kick in once provisional income passes $25,000; for married couples filing jointly, the threshold is $32,000.
That doesn’t mean the government takes 85% of your check. It means up to 85% of the benefit amount can be counted as taxable income, and then your normal tax bracket applies. Still, if you add part-time work, big IRA withdrawals, capital gains, and Social Security all in the same year, your after-tax benefit can be a lot smaller than you expected.
The mistake is not looking at taxes at all. A basic tax projection before you file, or whenever you plan big withdrawals, can help you decide whether to delay claiming, spread out withdrawals, or shift income between spouses to keep more of your check. Even if you can’t avoid taxes entirely, you can at least avoid being blindsided by a bill in April.
Ignoring how your claiming age affects your spouse’s future survivor check
In many couples, one spouse outlives the other by years or even decades. When one of you dies, the survivor usually keeps the higher of the two Social Security checks and the smaller check goes away. Survivor benefits can be up to 100% of the deceased worker’s benefit, including any delayed retirement credits that person earned.
That means the higher earner’s claiming decision doesn’t just affect their own lifetime income. If the higher earner files at 62 and locks in a smaller benefit, the surviving spouse may be stuck living on that reduced amount for the rest of their life. If that same higher earner can afford to delay until 70, the bigger check, boosted by delayed retirement credits of up to about 8% per year between full retirement age and 70, may later become the survivor’s check.
When you run the numbers, look at both lives, not just your own. In a couple where one spouse expects a longer life or has little savings of their own, it can make sense for the higher earner to delay claiming specifically to protect that future survivor income.
Not revisiting your benefits after major law changes
Social Security rules don’t change every year, but when they do, the impact can be huge. In 2025, a major law, often referred to as the Social Security Fairness Act, ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset, which had reduced or eliminated benefits for millions of people with “non-covered” government pensions (jobs that didn’t pay Social Security tax). News reports estimate that more than 3 million teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public workers saw their benefits increase, with billions in retroactive payments issued in 2025.
If you or a spouse worked in a job that didn’t pay into Social Security and you were told for years that WEP or GPO would cut your benefit, it’s a mistake to assume that old estimate is still right. Your check may already have gone up, but if your situation is complicated, it’s worth checking your current benefit amount and asking Social Security to review your record under the new rules.
Even if you’re not affected by this particular law, the lesson stands: when there’s a big Social Security change in the news, or every few years as you near retirement, take another look at your Statement and your options. A quick review can reveal benefits you didn’t know you’d earned.
Skipping your online account and basic fraud protections
Your Social Security number is a prime target for scammers. One growing problem: criminals use stolen personal information to create “my Social Security” accounts in other people’s names and reroute benefits. Social Security now strongly encourages everyone to set up their own secure online account, which lets you view your Statement, check your earnings, and manage benefits.
Not having an account doesn’t keep you “off the grid.” It can actually make you more vulnerable, because a scammer might be the first to create one using your information. The agency has also tightened security, for example, stopping bank-account changes by phone and pushing people to make those changes online or in person to reduce fraud.
Creating an account through the official site, turning on extra security features, and being skeptical of emails or texts with “SSA” links are simple ways to protect your future checks. The mistake is waiting until something goes wrong to lock things down.
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Byline: Katy Willis
