Choose a Social Security claiming strategy with Tolleson Wealth Management

Can I still change my check if I’m 12 years from claiming?

Many people think their Social Security benefit was set in their 50s, but the SSA uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings, and a strong late-career year can replace a low early year. Claiming age then moves the check from 70 percent of the full-retirement-age amount at 62 to 124 percent at 70, about 77 percent more.

This comes up most often for a single or widowed person, or for spouses with an age gap. Their savings have to cover the months they choose not to claim. Tolleson Wealth Management advisors weigh that gap against the withdrawal guardrails. If markets drop during the wait, the plan trims spending for a while, and nobody is forced to sell extra investments at a low.

Should I hire someone who can’t show me a break-even age?

A Social Security claiming strategy should show the break-even age for each filing choice and the dollar amount your accounts must supply while you wait. If someone cannot work from your SSA record and connect the result to your actual monthly spending, you are getting a benefit estimate, not a claiming analysis.

• Does the analysis start with my actual SSA earnings record, not an estimate typed in by hand?
• Will you show my break-even age for each claiming age, and what the portfolio has to pay me until the check starts?
• How do my 403(b), IRA and pension withdrawals change if I wait, and does the guardrail range still hold?
• How are you paid, and will I see it in writing before anything moves?

Each year past full retirement age adds 8 percent

People often hear that waiting only pays if they reach 90. The SSA allows benefits to begin at 62, but full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Claiming early reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1 percent for later months, reaching a 30 percent reduction at 62. Delayed credits add 2/3 of 1 percent monthly, or 8 percent annually, through age 70.

For illustration: Astrid, a hypothetical 68-year-old widowed former university librarian, has a small state pension, a paid-off condo, and $650K split between a 403(b) and IRA. She has not filed. Her SSA estimates show about $1,990 monthly if she starts now and $2,280 at 70, a difference of $290 monthly, or $290 × 12 = $3,480 annually. Waiting 24 months gives up 24 × $1,990 = $47,760 of checks. A $50K inheritance from her aunt covers that gap, and federal tax rules don't count an inheritance as taxable income. Her 403(b) and IRA can still pay for travel without larger withdrawals before RMDs start at 73. The break-even calculation is $47,760 ÷ $3,480 ≈ 13.7 years, so waiting pays off after about age 84, ignoring COLAs and taxes.

The inherited cash row is where Astrid’s answer flips: it replaces skipped checks without adding ordinary income. The 403(b) and IRA paying for travel can fall below what she put in, so the guardrails still apply while she waits.

Fifteen years out, an SSA statement may be enough

Someone in their early 50s with a steady paycheck and no spouse’s or survivor’s benefit to coordinate usually does not need a full analysis yet. Download the SSA earnings record annually and correct a missing W-2 year while the paperwork still exists. The IRS limit for 2026 allows an $8,000 catch-up at 50+ and an $11,250 catch-up at ages 60 through 63 in eligible workplace plans. Tolleson Wealth Management has a $500K investable-assets minimum, so smaller savers may begin this work on their own.

Do I lose money by claiming the month my paychecks stop?

Claiming when the job ends feels natural, yet claiming at 62 just to leave an IRA untouched can lock in a much smaller lifetime check. On a $2,000 full-retirement-age benefit, the SSA reduction produces $1,400 monthly at 62 instead of $2,480 at 70. That is $1,080 less each month, or $12,960 annually from 70 onward, before cost-of-living adjustments.

Part-time work creates another trap. In 2026, the SSA withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above $24,480 before full retirement age. In the year you reach full retirement age, the threshold is $65,160 and withholding is $1 for every $3 above it. An inheritance is not earnings for this test.

Medicare begins at 65 whether you claim Social Security or not. If you are not receiving a Social Security check, you enroll yourself in Part B; the 2026 standard premium is $202.90 monthly. Missing enrollment can bring a late penalty of 10 percent of the premium for each full 12 months without coverage, usually for life, unless you have qualifying employer coverage. A missing earnings year can also remain a zero in the 35-year average.

The Tolleson Wealth Management filing-month sequence

On the first call, you tell us what claiming question is on your mind and how much monthly income you want. Then you decide whether to send paperwork: your SSA earnings record, pension estimate, 403(b) and IRA statements, and last tax return. At the analysis meeting, Tolleson Wealth Management shows checks at three claiming ages, each break-even age, and how portfolio withdrawals change during the wait. You decide which age deserves a closer look.

At the decision meeting, you choose a claiming month and the account that fills the gap; both go into your playbook. You file the SSA application yourself, as early as four months ahead of your first benefit month, and can elect federal withholding on the check. Each annual meeting compares the claim choice with the withdrawal range. No analysis can know your lifespan or future congressional changes, so a break-even age is a comparison, not a promise. If poor health or limited savings makes the wait unaffordable, claiming earlier can be sensible.