What is a retirement income bridge?

An income bridge is a strategic pool of funds or guaranteed income sources used to cover living expenses between your early retirement date and the date you claim Social Security. Common bridge strategies include using short-term immediate annuities, TIPS ladders, CD ladders, or higher initial portfolio withdrawal rates.

How do I build a TIPS ladder for an income bridge?

To build a TIPS ladder, you purchase a series of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) with staggered maturity dates. For an eight-year bridge (from age 62 to 70), you would buy bonds maturing in each of those eight years, ensuring an inflation-adjusted cash flow that replaces your Social Security check. For example, if you need to temporarily replace $30,000 in income that you are not receiving from SS (because you are delaying claiming SS) you might want to buy 8 TIPS bonds each with a $30,000 face value maturing in year 1, year 2, year 3, ... year 8.

Is it safe to withdraw more than 4% of my portfolio to bridge to Social Security?

Yes, it can be safe to withdraw 6-8% of your portfolio temporarily as an income bridge for a few years. Because your much larger, inflation-protected Social Security check will significantly reduce your withdrawal needs later in life, the 'Total Return' over your lifetime often remains sustainable. But note that even a temporary high withdrawal rate can make a bad sequence of returns worse. If you experience a significant market downturn during those early retirement high-withdrawal years it might be advisable to reduce your spending to avoid depleting your portfolio too much for it to recover when the market rebounds.

How Can You Create an Income Bridge to Delay SS?

John Macy
Dec 10, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Mar 26

Are you retiring early? Here’s how to create an income bridge between your early retirement date and Social Security claiming date.

Why Delay Claiming Social Security?

For many, retiring early is the dream. But claiming Social Security at 62 results in a substantial permanent reduction in SS monthly payments compared to claiming at 70. Remember: those SS monthly payments are guaranteed for life and inflation protected — you want to maximize those if you can. For a married couple, the larger SS payment will continue as long as either partner is alive, so it is doubly important to maximize the larger SS payment. However, it is often fine for the lower-earning spouse to claim SS early, since this will have a minimal impact on their long-term cash flow and can provide needed income while the higher-earning spouse is waiting to claim SS. The recommendation for the higher-earning spouse to delay claiming SS while the lower-earning spouse claims early does not really depend on which spouse has the longer life expectancy — the surviving spouse will always get the higher SS benefit, regardless of which spouse earned it.

The Social Security Delay Comparison

Claiming Age	% of Full Benefit (Est.)	Yearly Increase if Delay	Survivor Benefit Impact
Age 62	~70%	N/A (Reduced by 70% for Life)	Permanently Reduced
Age 65	~86.7%	~6.7% per year from 62	Partially Reduced
Age 70	~124%	8% per year from FRA*	Maximized for Spouse

*FRA = Full Retirement Age (67 for most people)

If you’re retiring at 62 (or even earlier), how do you cover living expenses until your Social Security benefits hit their maximum at age 70?

The solution: Create an Income Bridge.

Let's use an example of a married couple, Chris and Jamie, who are retiring at 62. Jamie, the lower-earning spouse, plans to take SS immediately, but they want to delay Chris's higher SS benefit until 70 to maximize their guaranteed income for their joint lifespan. They need to create $30,000 in additional annual income for those 8 years (from 62-70) while they are waiting for Chris' SS benefit to begin. Here are three strategies they could use to comfortably bridge the gap:

Annuity Bridge: Use a portion of their investment portfolio to buy a single-premium 8-year immediate annuity paying $30,000/year. This provides a steady, guaranteed monthly paycheck that can cover essential expenses until their Social Security benefits begin. Even though CPI-linked annuities are not available today, they can buy an annuity with a fixed annual cost-of-living increase of 2-4% which will cover most of the inflation they will likely experience.
TIPS Ladder: Use a portion of their investment portfolio to build a portfolio of 8 bonds (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) with staggered maturities, each with a face value of $30,000. One bond would mature each year until age 70, providing predictable, inflation-adjusted income to cover their living costs. Alternatively, they could build a certificate of deposit (CD) ladder of CDs maturing each year over the next 8 years, although CDs are not adjusted for inflation.
Portfolio Bridge: Take larger withdrawals from their investment portfolio over those 8 years (62-70) and then reduce those withdrawals in their 70s and 80s. They can do this confidently, knowing that their much larger Social Security check will replace a bigger share of that income later on, and spending also typically declines in those later decades. For example, Chris and Jamie could take 6-8% from their portfolio in the first eight years and then 3% in later decades after SS kicks in.

Why This Works

Think of delaying Social Security as one of the best 'investments' available to a retiree, particularly for the higher earner in a married couple. By using an income bridge to delay from 62 to 70, you are effectively earning a guaranteed, inflation-adjusted return of roughly 8% per year — a return no bond or stock can guarantee.

By planning an “income bridge," you don't have to choose between retiring early or maximizing your benefits. You can cover today's needs while securing a higher, inflation-protected income for the rest of your life.

The Bottom Line

Delaying Social Security isn’t about "going without" — it's about planning smarter. With the right strategy, you can retire on your terms with a healthy income and build a more secure future. Learn more about the factors to consider in deciding when to claim Social Security here: "When Is the Best Time to Claim Social Security?"

At FlourishingPath Financial Coaching, I help individuals and couples design personalized income-bridging strategies so they can retire early and claim Social Security at the optimal time. Contact me or visit www.flourishingpathfinancial.com/book-online to schedule a free Discovery Session.

Author: John Macy, MBA, RICP®

Read My Bio

Flat-Fee, Fee-Only Fiduciary Financial Advisor Specializing in Retirement Income Planning