When Linda turned 62, she was ready to claim Social Security.
After more than four decades of working, she figured she’d earned it. Friends were already collecting their monthly checks, taking vacations and checking one more financial worry off the list.
Her husband, Mark, wasn’t interested.
He had spent months reading retirement books, running calculators and listening to experts who argued that patience pays. If he waited until age 70, his monthly Social Security benefit would grow to nearly $3,900.
But nearly $1,000 more every month for the rest of his life seemed worth the wait.
“If we’re healthy, why wouldn’t we wait?” Mark said.
Linda wasn’t convinced.
“What if life has other plans?” she’d ask.
It became the retirement debate they never seemed to settle.
Still, Mark won.
Instead of filing at 62, they decided to wait. Year after year, they watched friends collect benefits while they relied on savings and investment income. Every birthday brought them one step closer to what they believed would be the reward for their patience.
Then, just days before Mark’s 70th birthday, the unthinkable happened.
He suffered a fatal heart attack.
He never filed for Social Security.
He never received a single monthly payment.
Eight Years of Waiting
In the months that followed, Linda couldn’t stop asking herself the same question.
Did they make the right decision?
On paper, waiting looked like the clear winner. The larger monthly benefit would have provided more guaranteed income if Mark had lived a long retirement.
By waiting, they had given up eight years of Social Security payments they could have received together. There would be no break-even point. No first deposit. No chance to enjoy the larger monthly check they had spent years planning around.
Still, Linda also learned something she hadn’t fully appreciated before.
Because they were married, Mark’s decision to delay could still matter. Under Social Security’s survivor benefit rules, a surviving spouse may be eligible for a higher survivor benefit if the higher-earning spouse delayed claiming until later in life, assuming other eligibility requirements are met.
The outcome wasn’t as simple as “all or nothing.”
It rarely is.
The Decision That’s Different for Every Retiree
Stories like Linda and Mark’s highlight why deciding when to claim Social Security is one of retirement’s toughest financial choices.
Claiming as early as age 62 provides smaller monthly payments, but retirees receive them for more years if life doesn’t go according to plan.
Waiting until 70 permanently increases monthly benefits and can provide greater financial security for people who live well into retirement. For married couples, it may also increase the survivor benefit available to a surviving spouse.
Neither strategy is automatically right.
Health, family history, other retirement income, marital status and personal priorities all play an important role.
Some retirees value maximizing every monthly check. Others place a higher priority on enjoying retirement earlier, even if it means accepting a smaller benefit.
Social Security Is Only One Piece of the Puzzle
One reality remains true regardless of when someone claims.
Social Security was never designed to replace an entire paycheck.
For most retirees, it’s one source of retirement income, not the only one. That’s why many people also build wealth through workplace retirement plans, brokerage accounts and real estate. Others are willing to take on more risk by investing in startups such as Mode Mobile or Miso Robotics before they become household names, hoping to capture the kind of growth that’s often unavailable once companies go public.
Diversifying income sources can make retirement less dependent on any single decision, including when to claim Social Security.
Linda still wonders what she would have done if she’d known what the future held.
Would she have insisted they file at 62?
Or would she still have chosen to wait, knowing the larger survivor benefit could help support her in the years ahead?
She’ll never know.
That’s what makes the Social Security debate so enduring.
The calculators can estimate a monthly benefit almost down to the dollar.
They just can’t predict the one number that matters most: how much time any of us has left.
Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
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Realberry
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FarmTogether
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Immersed
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Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
