When Should You Claim Social Security?
Claiming early or late changes your lifetime benefit significantly. Read Social Security — How It Works & When to Claim to time it right.
Understanding Social Security Benefits
Social Security provides guaranteed lifetime retirement income based on your highest 35 years of earnings. The age at which you claim benefits has a massive impact on your monthly payment for the rest of your life.
Claiming Age Comparison
Age 62: Early
Claiming early reduces your benefit by up to 30% permanently. Best only if you have urgent health or cash needs.
Age 67: FRA
For anyone born after 1960, 67 is the Full Retirement Age. You get 100% of your primary insurance amount.
Age 70: Maximum
Your benefit increases by 8% every year you wait past FRA. This gives you the highest possible monthly check.
What Affects Your Benefits?
- Your 35 highest earning years
- Your claiming age
- Inflation adjustments (COLA)
- Spousal or survivor benefits
- Whether you continue working
- Full Retirement Age (FRA)
Retirement Strategy Tip
Delaying benefits is effectively a guaranteed 8% annual increase between FRA and age 70 — something difficult to match with low-risk investments. However, claiming earlier may still make sense if you have health concerns or need income sooner.
Common Social Security Mistakes to Avoid
- 1. Claiming at 62 by default without running the break-even mathClaiming early permanently cuts your monthly check by up to 30%. Unless you have a specific reason to need income sooner or a shorter-than-average life expectancy, waiting even a few years — or to age 70 — usually pays off if you live into your 80s.
- 2. Not accounting for the earnings test while still working before FRAIf you claim before your Full Retirement Age and keep working, earning above the annual limit ($23,400 in 2025) triggers withholding of $1 for every $2 over. Many people are surprised by this reduction — it isn't lost forever (it's repaid via higher checks after FRA), but it catches people off guard.
- 3. Forgetting spousal and survivor benefits when planning claiming ageThe higher earner's claiming age also affects the surviving spouse's benefit for the rest of their life. Couples often benefit from having the higher earner delay to 70, since that locks in the largest possible survivor benefit.
- 4. Assuming Social Security alone will cover retirement expensesSocial Security was designed to replace only about 40% of pre-retirement income for an average earner. Treat it as one leg of a retirement plan alongside 401(k), IRA, and other savings — not the whole plan.
The Bottom Line
Your Social Security claiming age is one of the largest, and most permanent, financial decisions in retirement — the difference between claiming at 62 and 70 can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars over a long retirement. Use this calculator to compare your estimated monthly benefit at 62, your Full Retirement Age, and 70, and factor in your health, other income sources, and whether a spouse's benefit depends on your claiming age before deciding.