Claiming early vs delaying.
In plain English
Social Security lets you start your retirement benefit any time between age 62 and age 70, and the age you pick locks in the size of your monthly check for life. Claiming early, before your full retirement age, permanently reduces each payment. Waiting past full retirement age earns delayed retirement credits worth 8 percent more per year, up to age 70, after which the credits stop. There is no single right answer. The math depends on your health, your savings, whether you are still working, and whether a spouse will draw on your record.
01Why it matters
This one decision can change your monthly income by hundreds of dollars for the rest of your life and affect a surviving spouse's check too, so it deserves real thought rather than a default grab at 62.
02The math, step by step
Say your full benefit at age 67 is $2,000 a month. Starting at 62 gives a permanently reduced amount, while waiting to 70 adds three years of 8 percent delayed credits, pushing the check well above $2,000. Someone in good health expecting a long life often comes out ahead by waiting. Someone who needs the income now, or has a short life expectancy, may reasonably claim early.
03What this is NOT
It is not a race to claim before the money disappears. The benefit does not vanish if you wait. Delaying actually increases the check, so claiming at 62 is a choice to take a smaller amount sooner, not a way to avoid losing it.
04Receipts
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Plain-English answers from our glossary. Receipts included. Never advice.
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