How to Maximize Your Social Security in 2026

Key Takeaways

• The best time to claim Social Security isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. It depends on your health, finances, marital status, and others, according to experts.
• In 2026, retirees can expect higher earnings limits, a 2.8% COLA, and a new senior tax deduction if aged 65 or older when filing their taxes.

When it comes to retirement planning, deciding when to collect Social Security is often a significant decision.

Collecting early, at age 62, can help ensure you have a steady stream of paychecks for a longer period. However, waiting at least until your full retirement age, which is age 67 for those born in 1960 or later, can boost your monthly benefits significantly—although it means receiving benefits for a shorter duration.

Investopedia connected with Marc Kiner and Jim Blair, Social Security consultants at Premier Social Security Consulting, to chat about what people should consider when deciding when to collect benefits and what types of changes are coming in 2026. The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

INVESTOPEDIA: What advice would you give to someone who's interested in maximizing their Social Security? When does it make sense to delay benefits?

MARC KINER: Don't assume age 62 or age 70 is the best time to take benefits. After all, about 5% to 7% of folks wait until age 70, and 20% to 25% will take at age 62.

People need to understand that Social Security is unique to their situation. They need to look at their situation, which includes, let's assume, a married couple, a husband and wife—and not just individual spouses. [They need to] run the projections and strategies based on joint lifetime benefits.

JIM BLAIR: If you have a single person, what's their health look like? Are they still continuing to work? Do they need the money?

[For couples], what are the work histories of each member of the couple? How important are survivor benefits? If survivor benefits are important, then the higher earner may want to delay as long as possible.

What's the difference in their ages? A lot of times, we talk about not filing at 62, but if you have a couple that is maybe five to 10 years apart in age, [collecting at] 62 for the younger spouse could make sense, because they could end up receiving a survivor benefit before they would ever reach their break-even point. [The break-even point refers to the age at which the lifetime value of delaying Social Security outweighs the value of collecting early.]

Are there any children involved, minor children, or disabled children that could be eligible?

We're going to have people factor all of that in.

Related Education

Find Out If You Qualify for the New Senior Tax Break

Understanding Social Security Survivor Benefits: Eligibility and Amounts

INVESTOPEDIA: Going into 2026, are there any notable changes happening to Social Security?

BLAIR: The amount you're allowed to earn before it affects your benefit has gone up. It was $23,400. Now it's $24,480. If you go over that, they hold back $1 for every $2 [you earn if you're under full retirement age].

In the year you reach full retirement age, the [earnings] limit went from $62,160 [in 2025] to $65,160, and then $1 [worth of benefits are withheld] for every $3 [of earnings].

I think everybody's pretty aware of the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment. Technically, that's effective this month, but you won't see it in your check until next month, so everybody calls it the January increase.

KINER: Another legislative change is the additional senior deduction: $6,000 for everybody age 65 or older [starting in 2025]. You don't need to be receiving a Social Security benefit to get that deduction. It's a deduction from adjusted gross income, and it goes into computing your taxable income.

If you file a a joint tax return, with both spouses, you get $12,000 off of your AGI. You get to use it for four years. The last year you can use it will be 2028. There's a phase-out: $75,000 for individuals, and for couples, it's a $150,000 phase-out.

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