As I have always said, when and at what age you take Social Security benefits is unique to you, whether you are single or married. There is no “one-size fits all” approach. If you are married, you cannot look at each spouse benefit in a silo. You must coordinate the two benefits and maximize the survivor's benefits to achieve the largest lifetime benefits possible.

Social Security benefits are the foundation of your retirement planning. Social Security benefits will make up 48% to 83% of your retirement income. Getting the timing correct on claiming Social Security benefits allows you the opportunity to integrate this income stream with your other assets to provide you with a lifetime of income. I am not advocating taking Social Security benefits early, as I have said every situation is different. The 5 reasons listed below should be considered when determining the timing of benefits and how it fits into your situation.

Social Security Provisions

• 23% Haircut in Benefits – the Social Security trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2032. That’s only 6 years away. If Congress does not address this issue, all benefits being received will be cut by a projected 23%. That means if you are receiving a monthly benefit of $2,000, your monthly benefit will be reduced to $1,540. This is an across the board cut, and there are no grandfather provisions.
• Retroactive Social Security Benefit – if you file for benefits after your full retirement age and have earned delayed retirement credits, you have the ability to receive a maximum of up to 6 months benefits up front in a lump sum check when you claim your Social Security benefit. If your monthly benefit is $2,000, this means you will receive a lump sum check for $12,000. An individual who chooses a retroactive benefit is trading a one-time lump-sum up front payment in return for a permanently lower monthly payment for the rest of the individual’s life. This also creates a smaller survivor benefit in the future.

Income Tax Provisions

• Permanently Reduced Tax Rates – the lowered federal tax rates enacted in 2017 were set to expire on December 31, 2025, and revert to the original higher income tax rates. The One Big Beautiful Bill signed July 4, 2025, made these lower federal tax rates permanent for individuals and trusts.
• Increased Standard Deduction – this is the amount you can exclude from income. The standard deduction for a married couple in 2025 is increased by $1,500 to $31,500. If you are over 65, you can add an additional $3,200 to increase your standard deduction to $34,700. The standard deduction for a single person in 2025 increased by $750 to $15,750. If you are over 65, you can add an additional $2,000 additional deduction for a total standard deduction of $17,750.
• Over 65 Bonus Deduction – this is a separate, temporary four-year deduction available from 2025 to 2028. People over 65 may be eligible to deduct an additional $6,000 from their income. A married couple up to $12,000. You do not need to itemize deductions to take advantage of this deduction. This separate deduction phases out for marrieds starting at $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income and $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income for singles.

These tax changes mean lower tax rates going forward and maximum tax-free income for marrieds of $46,700 and for singles of $23,750.

So, to sum up, a possible reduction in benefits of 23% starting in 2032, the ability to take a 6-month lump sum benefit up front if you file for benefits after your full retirement age coupled with the recent tax law changes should be considered when determining your filing strategy. Maybe the conventional wisdom of waiting as long as you can to file for benefits might not be appropriate for you in the coming years.

Remember, take the wrong benefit at the wrong time; it’s usually always smaller and forever.