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Dear Junah · Scenario

Retirement · Mindset

I turn 62 soon. How do I decide when to claim Social Security?

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Dear Junah,

I turn 62 in the spring. My knees say retire now. My brother says claim Social Security early, and my neighbor says wait until 70. How do I decide?

Undecided in Cleveland

My dear, claiming at sixty-two locks in a smaller check for life. Each year you wait, up to seventy, it grows. Weigh your health, your savings and who depends on you.

Warm wishes, Junah

The short answer

Claiming at 62 locks in a smaller check for life: about 30 percent less than at 67, your full retirement age if you were born in 1960 or later. Each year you wait past 67, up to 70, adds 8 percent. Weigh your health, your savings, whether a spouse depends on your benefit, and how you will cover health insurance until Medicare at 65.

By Junah Mpofu

More than 33 years in banking, including mortgage and credit lending, and a real estate portfolio of her own

Last reviewed

The question

Dear Junah,

I turn 62 in the spring. My knees say retire now. My brother says claim Social Security early, and my neighbor says wait until 70. How do I decide?

Undecided in Cleveland

An illustrative letter.

The answer

My dear, everyone around you has an answer, and each of them sounds sure. Your brother and your neighbor are both right, for someone. The question is what is right for you, and that depends on things only you know: your health, your savings, your family and how long your knees can keep going. Let me lay out how the choice works, so you can weigh it for yourself.

What changes between 62, 67 and 70?

If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. That is when you receive your full benefit. Claim at 62 and your check is reduced by about 30 percent, for life. Wait past 67 and it grows by 8 percent for each year you delay, up to 70.

Say your full benefit at 67 would be $2,000 a month. At 62 it would be about $1,400. At 70 it would be about $2,480. Cost-of-living increases are added each year whichever age you choose, so the gap between them lasts.

When does waiting pay off?

Claiming early means more checks; waiting means bigger ones. Using the example above, someone who waits until 67 instead of claiming at 62 usually comes out ahead in total if they live past about 79. Waiting from 67 to 70 pays off past about 82 or 83. These are rough figures, before taxes, but they show the shape of the choice.

So waiting tends to suit people in good health, from families where people live long, and who have savings or other income to live on in the meantime. Claiming earlier can suit people whose health is poor, who need the income now, or who have little else to draw on.

It can help to think of Social Security as insurance against a long life. It is one of the few incomes that lasts as long as you do and rises with prices. The larger that check, the less your savings have to carry in your eighties and nineties, if you are blessed with them.

What if I am married?

Then the choice is not only about you. If you are the higher earner, your benefit may become your spouse's survivor benefit after you are gone. Waiting to claim can mean a larger check for whichever of you lives longer. For many couples, that is the strongest reason for the higher earner to wait, even when the other claims earlier.

Does retiring mean I have to claim?

No, and this is worth knowing. You can stop working at 62 and still wait to claim, living on savings or a pension for a few years so that your Social Security check is larger for the rest of your life. Some people work part-time for a while, in something easier on the body, to bridge the gap.

If your health truly keeps you from working, ask Social Security about disability benefits. They follow different rules, and for someone who qualifies before full retirement age, they can pay more than claiming retirement benefits early.

Can I work and collect at the same time?

Yes, but before full retirement age there is a limit. In 2026, if you are under full retirement age for the whole year, Social Security holds back $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the year you reach full retirement age, the limit is higher and the reduction smaller. The money held back is not lost: your benefit is recalculated upward at full retirement age to account for it. But it can make claiming early while still working less useful than it first appears.

What about health insurance before 65?

Medicare begins at 65, whatever age you claim Social Security. If you stop working at 62, you will need health coverage for those three years: through a spouse's employer, a former employer's retiree plan, continuing your workplace plan for a time, or a plan from the health insurance marketplace. Price this before you decide. For many people it is one of the largest costs of retiring early.

If you are not yet receiving Social Security when you turn 65, you need to sign up for Medicare yourself, so mark the date.

How do I decide?

  • Look at your own figures. Your account on the Social Security website shows your estimated benefit at 62, at 67 and at 70.
  • Be honest about health. Your own, and how long people in your family tend to live.
  • Count your bridge. How many years could your savings and any other income carry you before you claim?
  • Think of your spouse. If you are married, consider both benefits and the survivor benefit together.
  • Ask questions. Social Security can explain your options, and a fee-only financial planner can look at your whole picture for a set price.

There is no single right age. There is only the one that fits your body, your savings and the people you love. Take your time with it, because once you claim, the choice stays with you for life.

Before you choose your claiming age

  • Your estimates at 62, 67 and 70

    From your account on the Social Security website.

  • Your health and your family's

    How you are now, and how long people in your family tend to live.

  • Your bridge years

    How long savings, a pension or part-time work could carry you before you claim.

  • Your spouse's benefit

    If you are married, the survivor benefit and both claiming ages together.

  • Health insurance until 65

    Where coverage comes from, and what it costs, if you stop work before Medicare.

  • Any work you plan to keep

    Before full retirement age, earnings above $24,480 in 2026 reduce benefits for a time.

  • Your Medicare date

    Sign up around 65 yourself if you are not yet receiving Social Security.

  • Your questions answered

    By Social Security, or a fee-only financial planner for a set price.

Questions people ask

How much less do you get if you claim Social Security at 62?

If your full retirement age is 67, which applies to anyone born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 reduces your monthly benefit by about 30 percent, for life. A benefit of $2,000 a month at 67 would be about $1,400 at 62. Waiting past 67 adds 8 percent a year up to 70, when the same benefit would be about $2,480. Cost-of-living increases apply whichever age you choose.

Is it better to claim Social Security early or wait?

It depends on your health, your savings, your other income and whether a spouse depends on your benefit. Waiting usually pays more in total for people who live past their late seventies or early eighties, and it can raise a surviving spouse's benefit. Claiming earlier can make sense for people in poor health, who need the income now or who have little else to live on.

Can I work while collecting Social Security before full retirement age?

Yes, but in 2026 Social Security holds back $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480 if you are under full retirement age all year. In the year you reach full retirement age, the limit is $65,160 and $1 is held back for every $3 above it, counting only earnings before the month you reach that age. Benefits held back are credited to you later through a higher monthly amount.

What is the break-even age for Social Security?

It is the age at which waiting to claim has paid you more in total than claiming earlier. For someone whose full retirement age is 67, waiting until 67 instead of claiming at 62 usually breaks even at around 79, and waiting from 67 to 70 at around 82 or 83. These rough figures leave out taxes and investment returns, but they show how much your expected lifespan matters.

Does claiming Social Security early affect my spouse?

It can. If you are the higher earner, your benefit may become your spouse's survivor benefit after your death, so claiming early can mean a smaller check for them for the rest of their life. Waiting can raise that survivor benefit. Married couples often look at both benefits together, and Social Security can explain how the spousal and survivor rules apply to you.

Three things to take away

  1. Claiming at 62 locks in a check about 30 percent smaller than at 67, for life.
  2. You can stop working without claiming, and let your benefit grow.
  3. Weigh your health, your savings, your spouse and health insurance until 65.

One thing to do this week

Open your account on the Social Security website and write down your estimated benefit at 62, at 67 and at 70.

Keep going

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An illustrative scenario for education, not personal financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Your situation will differ. About these scenarios