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Claiming Social Security at 62, 67, or 70

The trade-off between a smaller check sooner and a larger check later.

For people with a full retirement age (FRA) of 67, claiming at 62 permanently reduces the monthly benefit to about 70% of the full amount. Waiting past 67 earns delayed retirement credits of 8% per year, so claiming at 70 pays about 124%.

The break-even idea

Claiming early gives you more checks; claiming later gives you bigger checks. Adding up lifetime benefits shows an approximate age at which the later option catches up. If you live beyond that age, waiting tends to produce more in total.

Factors beyond break-even

• Health and family longevity
• Whether you need the income now
• Spousal and survivor benefits
• Taxes and other income sources
• Cost-of-living adjustments, which apply to all claiming ages

Try the 62/67/70 comparison on our home page, and verify your actual benefit estimate at ssa.gov.