Waiting until age 70 to claim Social Security provides the biggest checks in retirement. But it can sometimes make sense to claim earlier. Here's what to know.

If you apply for Social Security retirement benefits before you reach full retirement age, your benefit will be permanently reduced according to the following rules: This means if your full retirement age is 67 and you claim benefits at 62, you're facing a 30% permanent reduction.

Agency officials discussed the rise in Social Security claims in an internal meeting, which wound up on YouTube.