If you’re not fully informed about your options for Social Security when you start taking benefits, you could be at a big disadvantage. Your payments might be lower than they should be, or you may miss out on benefits available to you and your family.
“It’s indisputable that Americans across all generations need more Social Security education,” says Tina Ambrozy, senior vice president of strategic customer solutions at Nationwide. “Unfortunately, failing to close the knowledge gap and correct some of these misconceptions can have costly repercussions.”
Watch for these seven common Social Security mistakes so you can make the most of your retirement.
— Not asking for help
— Not accounting for longevity
— Misunderstandings with spousal benefits
— Avoiding the big picture
— Missing paperwork
— Not accounting for cost-of-living adjustments
— Not planning early enough for Social Security
[READ: Great Retirement Planning Tools and Software.]
Not Asking for Help
Social Security can be overwhelming if you approach it on your own.
“Most people have no idea how to optimize their Social Security income or what the optimal claiming strategy may be,” says Nick Cantrell, founder of Green Future Wealth Management in Worcester, Mass. “Even as a CFP practitioner and financial planner for over 15 years who has given dozens of Social Security seminars and calculated optimal claiming strategies for hundreds of people, I still utilize software to help me recommend the optimal Social Security claiming strategy.”
If you haven’t spoken to a financial professional about Social Security, schedule an appointment to review your circumstances and any questions you have.
Not Accounting For Longevity
Once you near retirement, evaluating your health and longevity can be worthwhile.
“Your life expectancy at 62 is much longer than what it was at birth,” says Jeremy Keil, founder at Keil Financial Partners in New Berlin, Wis. “It takes five minutes to go to LongevityIllustrator.org and learn both your personal life expectancy and the odds that you’ll make it to certain ages.”
[Should Retirees Still Plan for 95?]
Misunderstandings With Spousal Benefits
It is important to understand that the decisions you make now could directly impact spousal benefits.
“If you’re married and you have the higher benefit, your choice is not about you,” Keil says. “It’s not only about the both of you, it’s most importantly about the widow(er).”
If you have the higher benefit, you may want to wait to take payments. Your Social Security benefits will increase every year you delay payment after your full retirement age until you reach 70.
Avoiding the Big Picture
If you’re in good health or plan to work past retirement age, it may make sense to delay benefits. However, if you believe your life expectancy will be shorter or you have concerns about the solvency of the Social Security system, taking your benefits before your full retirement age may make sense for you.
To make an informed decision, you’ll want to talk to your household about your finances and upcoming plans. Together, you can set goals for retirement and take benefits when it makes sense for you.
Missing Paperwork
The Social Security Administration sends statements so you can see your and your company’s contributions. It can be helpful to review these so you can keep track of the numbers. There are many scams related to Social Security, and thieves may try to steal your identity. By keeping track of all your documents, you can better protect yourself and your personal information.
Not Accounting for COLA
Another mistake people often make is forgetting about the cost-of-living adjustments that apply to Social Security benefits when calculating when they should claim.
“COLA additions to Social Security income benefits are an extremely powerful retirement income feature, and the vast majority of participants and even financial advisors are not focused enough on cost-of-living factors,” Cantrell says.
[Read: Social Security COLA 2025: What to Do With the Extra Money]
Not Planning Early Enough for Social Security
By and large, Americans should start planning their Social Security game plan in their early 50s.
“That’s a good strategy as your beliefs about when you’ll take Social Security will affect your beliefs about when you retire and how you invest,” Keil says.
According to Keil, the best organizational strategies to optimize Social Security include these steps:
— Get your longevity estimates and probabilities. The Social Security Administration maintains a life expectancy calculator that will tell you the average number of additional years a person with your date of birth and gender can expect to live. Another resource is LongevityIllustrator.org.
— Focus on joint longevity if you’re a couple. “Notice how joint longevity is likely about five years longer than each of your individual longevity,” Keil notes.
— Play both sides of the odds. In other words, if you want the higher monthly payout, file for the higher benefit later than you would have otherwise, Keil adds. “This helps you and your widow(er) and gives you more money if you live a longer-than-average life.”
If you’re not sure you can wait, file for the lower benefit earlier than you would have otherwise. “This helps you get money from Social Security now and helps lessen the pain of waiting on the higher Social Security amount,” he says.
More from U.S. News
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What Gen X Gets Wrong About Claiming Social Security
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7 Social Security Mistakes to Avoid originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/24/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
