For many retirees, Social Security benefits are seen as hot money on the table, to be devoured as soon as possible. But as with preparing and savoring a fine meal, a careful approach and delayed gratification may yield the highest rewards from the program.

Many financial planners advise that you wait as long as possible before receiving benefits. Despite this, a sizable number of Americans who have reached 62 — 41 percent of men and 46 percent of women — apply for Social Security at 62, the earliest age at which you can take payments. The way Social Security works, this will lock in the lowest possible payment for life.

The “early” approach works if you need the money immediately. A lot of people, especially the millions who haven’t saved much, do need it. But the decision would penalize you over time. You would be passing up a progressively higher benefit available in each of the next eight years.

This period includes when you reach what Social Security calls your “full retirement age” — 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, as old as 67 for later arrivals — and what might be called a bonus period after that, ending at age 70.

Individual dollar totals over the course of a retirement are never easy to predict, but unless your current health prognosis is gloomy, the longer you expect to live, the more sense it makes to delay benefits.

Here’s how the bonus/discount would work: Those born from 1943 to 1954, for whom the full retirement age is 66, would see a 25 percent reduction in monthly benefits if they retired at 62 instead of at full retirement age, and 30 percent off for their spouses.

But the formula varies, depending upon age. For someone born after 1960, for example, the full retirement age is 67. They would see a 30 percent cut from the full-retirement age benefit, based on a $1,000 “primary insurance amount,” or monthly benefit.

For those who are able to wait until after full retirement age to begin taking benefits, and who were born in 1943 or later, the bonus is a flat 8 percent of the full retirement benefit, accruing another 8 percent each year, to age 70.

The “wait to take” strategy makes even more sense when you consider longer life spans. On average, women reaching age 65 today can expect to live to age 86 and men to 84, according to the Social Security Administration. About a quarter of this group will live past 90. If you’re relatively healthy and there’s longevity in your genome, you’ll probably need the extra money.

Then there is the cost-of-living adjustment, making Social Security one of the few inflation-adjusted retirement benefits around — at least for now. But keep an eye on Washington, D.C.: Several proposals have been floated to trim the cost-of-living adjustment, though none has made it through Congress and all are likely to be extremely unpopular among current retirees and near retirees.

Professor Richard H. Thaler, the University of Chicago behavioral economist and Sunday New York Times columnist, said that with most people claiming Social Security benefits within a year of eligibility, “they are passing up a chance to increase the most cost-effective way to get more inflation-protected annuity income, which is to delay claiming.

“For those who are strapped for cash, it may be better to start drawing down their 401(k) assets sooner and keep building up their Social Security credits.”

The extra dollars gained add up in a profound way for those who delay benefits until 70. Assuming a “full retirement age” of 66, a $1,000 monthly payment at age 62 becomes $1,320 at 70 if the recipient waits until that age to begin drawing it.

Uncle Sam’s 30 percent waiting bonus is in addition to any money you contributed to your other retirement plans and savings during those eight years of delayed payments, assuming you didn’t make withdrawals and were working or contributing to your savings.

And keep in mind, there’s also the persistent power of compounding, which will multiply your nest egg, depending on how you invested and rate of return.

What if you chose to work past 62 and then collect Social Security at 70? In addition to the boost in Social Security benefits, your 401(k) could grow significantly in those eight years, even with conservative assumptions. Let’s say you had a $250,000 balance in your 401(k) at age 62 and decided to stay in the plan by contributing 10 percent annually with a 50 percent employer match (up to 6 percent). At a modest 5 percent rate of return, based on an $80,000 salary and 3 percent annual raises, you’d have nearly $482,000 at age 70.

But things get more complicated if you have a spouse and you choose to work longer.

There are some tricky rules regarding how spousal and survivor benefits are paid, so it would be worthwhile to talk to a qualified financial adviser or the Social Security Administration to see how to reap the maximum benefit.

The simple math here is that higher-earning spouses should wait as long as they can before taking Social Security. The higher his or her preretirement income, the higher the spousal or survivor’s benefit. Conversely, it’s less of an advantage for the lower-earning spouse to delay since benefits are tied to lifetime earnings.

For same-sex couples, the process would work the same, but with one wrinkle: Couples have to be legally married and live in states that recognize the union. All of the other eligibility rules apply.

Another strategy is that the higher-income spouse can file for benefits, then ask the Social Security Administration to suspend payments. Then, the lower-earning spouse files for a “spousal” benefit — half that of the higher earner. This produces some cash flow until the top earner files for the maximum payment at age 70 and the other spouse can file for his or her regular benefit, which would also be a higher payment. It’s an interim strategy that might work for those who want to work longer or semi-retire.

“Focus on the full lifetime benefit for both spouses and delay until 70,” said Marty Allenbaugh, a certified financial planner for the mutual fund firm T. Rowe Price. “Protecting a survivor’s benefits is really important.”

Howard Hook, a CPA and financial planner in Princeton, N.J., says you need to consider a wide range of health, income and tax issues before making a decision. While it’s tempting to take early benefits because of ill health, many underestimate their longevity.

“It comes down to your needs, not your health,” Hook advises. “Who’s working? Who has a pension? What kinds of savings do you have? If they don’t need the money now, I’m likely to tell clients to defer taking Social Security.”

Although Social Security math gets gnarly when two people are involved, there are a number of calculators that can help you reach a decision.

The Social Security Administration provides simple tools to help you calculate retirement age, longevity estimates and benefits. T. Rowe Price has a free tool that can work with Social Security’s numbers.

For a more sophisticated analysis, consider the Maximize My Social Security software, written by Laurence J. Kotlikoff, an economics professor at Boston University. It costs $40 a year.

Keep in mind that Social Security can be a small but integral part of a complex puzzle of pensions, annuities, savings and other sources of income. A certified financial planner, certified public accountant or chartered financial analyst can review possibilities that take into account all of your assets and your tax situation.

The best decision allows you to maximize income, build your nest egg and not worry about running out of money.

Information in this article, originally published July 27, 2014, was corrected July 28, 2014. A previous version of this story about the financial effects of drawing Social Security benefits at age 62 referred imprecisely to the 8 percent “bonus” available to those who defer benefits past full retirement age. The bonus is a flat 8 percent of the full retirement age benefit, growing annually to as much as 32 percent. Because of an editing error, the correction misstated the age at which the bonus becomes available. It starts after full retirement age, and continues accruing to age 70. Also because of an editing error, the correction misstated the basis for a 25 percent reduction in monthly benefits for those whose full retirement age is 66, but who begin taking payments at 62. It is a reduction from the full retirement age benefit..

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