Your monthly U.S. Social Security check can be roughly 75% larger if you delay claiming until age 70, because the program builds benefits from your highest 35 years of taxable earnings and pays delayed retirement credits only up to age 70. Only wages up to the Social Security Administration's taxable maximum count toward the formula, and that cap was set at $184,500 for 2026. The Globe and Mail reported the theoretical maximum retirement benefit in 2026 exceeds $5,000 per month for someone who meets the earnings and timing conditions. For Canadians the picture is different: the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security use other rules with 2026 maximums far below U.S. Social Security levels, and eligible CPP and OAS payments are scheduled to be deposited on July 29, 2026.
Claiming at 70 can raise your monthly check substantially because delayed credits and a longer record of high earnings both push the calculation higher. The Social Security Administration converts your indexed earnings into an average of your 35 highest-earning years, then applies bend points and cost-of-living adjustments to arrive at your primary insurance amount. Delayed retirement credits add to that amount until your 70th birthday and then stop.
How delayed claiming raises your payment
Two mechanics matter most. First, only wages that were subject to Social Security tax count, and only up to the SSA's annual taxable maximum. That maximum was $184,500 for 2026. Second, the formula uses your 35 highest indexed years, so adding years with high wages can replace lower-earning years in the 35-year average and lift the benefit base.
For high earners the path to the largest possible monthly benefit is straightforward on paper: accumulate roughly 35 years of earnings at or above the taxable maximum, then delay claiming until 70 to collect the full set of delayed retirement credits. The SSA's published tables for 2026 show the maximum benefit rises with later claim ages, and The Globe and Mail reported the maximum possible monthly payment in 2026 is well over $5,000 for someone who satisfies the earnings and timing conditions.
That arithmetic also explains why adding work before you file can matter more than work after you file. If you are still unclaimed and you earn high wages that replace a lower-earning year inside your 35-year record, your eventual monthly amount will rise. If you have already started benefits, further work doesn't generate additional delayed credits and only affects the monthly amount if those earnings can retroactively displace a weaker year used in the 35-year average.
Working after 70 and how Canada differs
If you are already 70 and have begun Social Security, you can't increase your monthly benefit via delayed credits.
You can still affect the 35-year average by adding high-earning years that replace lower ones in the record, but the gains are usually smaller than the boost from delaying claim age up to 70.
Canadians should treat the U.S. rules as a separate system. Public retirement income in Canada comes mainly from the Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security, not from Social Security. The CPP is a contribution-based pension that can rise if contributors keep working and making post-retirement CPP contributions after they start a CPP pension. New Canadian beneficiaries aged 65 were projected to receive an average monthly CPP payment of $877.01 in 2026, with a maximum CPP payment at 65 of $1,507.65 in 2026. Old Age Security is entitlement-based by age and residency rather than earnings; the OAS maximum monthly amounts published for 2026 were $751.97 for people aged 65 to 74 and $827.17 for those 75 and older, and income thresholds can affect whether someone receives the full OAS amount.
Importantly, continuing to work in Canada doesn't block CPP or OAS payments where you qualify. That contrasts with the U.S. trade-off between working, taxable earnings and the timing of claiming Social Security. For Canadians who also have U.S. eligibility questions, the different rules mean work and timing decisions will have distinct effects on each program.
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Eligible Canadians are scheduled to receive their CPP and OAS payments on July 29, 2026. Originally reported by theglobeandmail.com.
This article was created with AI assistance.
