What is the percentage increase in benefits for Mary if she waits to claim her benefits until age 68 instead of taking them at her FRA?

When evaluating the percentage increase in Social Security benefits for someone like Mary who decides to delay claiming her benefits until age 68 instead of taking them at her Full Retirement Age (FRA), it is important to understand how the benefit increase works with delayed retirement.

Social Security benefits increase by a specific percentage for each year you delay claiming benefits past your FRA, up to age 70. This increase is known as "delayed retirement credits." The standard rate for these credits is typically 8% for each year you delay after your FRA. Given that Mary is waiting an additional two years — from her FRA to age 68 — this results in a total delay of 16%.

Thus, the percentage increase in Mary’s benefits from waiting until age 68 compared to claiming at her FRA is 16%. This means that if she opts to wait, her monthly benefits will be 16% higher than they would have been if she started receiving them at her Full Retirement Age.

In contrast, the other options reflect percentages that don't correspond to the standard increase calculation for delayed retirement credits in this scenario. For instance, an increase of 10% would typically represent just one year of delay, and an increase of 20% would imply an even longer delay than