While he thought he’d cracked the code to stable monthly benefit amounts and a happy retirement when he filed for Social Security, he now regrets that decision. Currently, maximum benefits are estimated to be about $5,108 if you delay claiming Social Security benefits until age 70. If you start collecting Social Security benefits at the FRA, it’s closer to $4,018 while collecting earlier at age 62 decreases the maximum to only $2,831 a month.