My wife turns 69 in June of 2023. Her expected SS benefit sheet shows a monthly benefit at age 69 of $3,944. If she waits to age 70 the monthly benefit iwould ncreases to $4,333. Given the anticipated 8 to 10% COLA adjustment to be released in Oct 2022 for 2023 SS benefits, does it make sense for her to retire at age 69 instead of of waiting until age 70 since inflation is expected to continue with higher than past year COLA adjustments, in effect allowing her to retire earlier but getting the same monthly payment benefit as if she waited to file at age 70?

Hi. When to start drawing her benefits is up to your wife to decide, but if she starts at age 69 instead of 70 her benefit rate will always be roughly 8% less than if she had waited until age 70. All Social Security cost of living (COLA) increases that occur after a person reaches age 62 are added to their Social Security retirement benefit rate, so your wife doesn't need to start drawing early to get credit for all future COLAs.

Another thing for your wife to consider is that if she claims her benefits at age 69 in June 2023, she'd initially only be credited with the delayed retirement credits (DRC) she accrued through December 2022. She couldn't be credited with the 5 DRCs earned from January 2023 through May 2023 until her benefit payment for January 2024.

Furthermore, starting her benefits earlier than age 70 could adversely affect the amount that you could be paid as a survivor should your wife die before you. Your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of her options so that she can determine the best overall strategy for maximizing her benefits.

Best, Jerry