Social Security at 62 vs. 67 vs. 70: When should you start claiming your benefits?

You've spent much of your life working and saving for the future—and paying into the Social Security retirement system. Now, as retirement approaches, you're probably wondering how to maximize your assets so you can enjoy your post-work life while you support the people and causes you care about.

Whether your vision includes longer vacations with your loved ones, volunteering with friends or more time on the pickleball court, one of the most important choices you'll make is whether to claim Social Security at 62 vs. 67 vs. 70—or somewhere in between.

Your decision can greatly affect how much you get from Social Security as well as the taxes you'll pay, your spouse's survivor benefit and your Medicare premiums. That's why it's so important to take a careful look at the big picture.

Your lifetime benefits will vary depending on what age you start to collect them. While you can begin claiming Social Security benefits as early as 62, it can result in a benefit reduction of as much as 30%. To receive the standard benefit, you must wait to claim until your full retirement age (FRA)—between 66 and 67, depending on your birth year. If you wait even longer, you'll receive more. Social Security adds 8% to your benefit for each full year you delay beyond (FRA) until age 70, when you max out the amount available to you per year.

To figure out your possible lifetime benefits (though it won't reflect inflation or impact on taxes or investments), look at your most recent Social Security earnings history statement. It will give you an estimated monthly benefit based on when you start claiming, from age 62 through age 70.

Building on the example above, let's say you'd receive $1,260 a month by filing at age 62, $1,800 by filing at your FRA of 67 and $2,232 by filing at 70. Here's what that looks like over the course of retirement:

In this example, filing at 62 would bring in $62,640 more than filing at 70 if you died at 75. But if you died at 95, filing at 70 would bring in $170,640 more than filing at 62.

If this seems overwhelming, or you're not sure how to determine how much you'll need, a financial advisor can help you make personalized projections.

Claiming Social Security benefits before full retirement age might seem like the lesser choice since your lifetime benefit is reduced. But every worker's situation is different. Early retirement might make sense if you have plenty of funds in investments to supplement your Social Security or if you're dealing with a medical condition. Let's look at factors that play into this decision.

• Maximize benefits of a shorter lifespan. For someone with a serious illness like cancer, liver disease, kidney failure or emphysema, filing early makes the most of lifetime benefits. 
  
• Preserve retirement assets. Claiming early can provide income now without need to tap into your other retirement accounts. 
  
• Potential to maximize household benefits. A lower-earning spouse could file early to receive benefits from their own earnings record while their higher-earning spouse holds off. When the higher-earning spouse eventually files, their spouse can start claiming a higher spousal benefit instead, therefore optimizing their benefits as a couple. This is generally referred to as a split, or staggered, strategy. 

• Short-term penalties for exceeding the earnings limit. If you claim Social Security while working and before full retirement, the earnings limit may delay $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the earnings limit: $22,320 in 2024. For example, let's say you're younger than FRA and you're entitled to $9,600 for the year. You continue to work and you earn $32,320 ($10,000 more than the earnings limit for the year). In this case, your benefit would be reduced by $5,000. Different rules apply when you reach full retirement age. The limit goes away, and Social Security recalculates your benefits to make up for what it withheld. 
  
• Potential for higher taxes. If you're getting Social Security, you're increasing your taxable income, and it may be harder to avoid a higher tax bracket, which could be a big deal if you move from, say, 12% to 22% or 24% to 32%. 
  
• Potentially higher charges for Medicare. You could end up paying a higher premium for Medicare Parts B and D if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) falls above a certain threshold—$206,000 annually for couples or $103,000 for single filers. 
  
• Smaller possible benefit for a lower-earning surviving spouse. Let's say you're the higher-earning spouse, but your health is poor. If you file early, you forgo the opportunity for your spouse to receive a higher survivor's benefit. 
  
• Potential reduction in lifetime benefits. If you expect to live a long time, you could be leaving funds on the table by claiming early. 

The advantages and disadvantages of claiming benefits at age 67 through age 70 mirror the considerations in the previous section. One individual's advantage might be a pitfall for someone else, so understanding how each factor affects your unique circumstance is crucial to creating the right strategy for you.

• Larger monthly benefit. 
• Avoid concerns about the earnings limit. 
• Possible tax savings. 
• Possible Medicare savings. 
• Larger benefit for a lower-earning surviving spouse. 
• Potential increase in lifetime benefits. 

• If you have a shorter lifespan, you may not maximize your total benefits. 
• You must use other assets to support yourself and your family. 
• It may not be optimal for your entire household. 

Deciding when to start receiving Social Security benefits is always a personal decision. Here are things to think about:

The average remaining life expectancy at age 60 is about 20 years for men and 24 years for women according to the Social Security Administration's 2021 period life tables, published in 2024. These tables are a good place to start if you aren't sure how to make an informed guess about how long you might live.

Genes, lifestyle choices and socioeconomic status are key factors that can influence how long you live. If you have healthy parents, have a relatively healthy lifestyle and can afford high-quality health care, you might anticipate living longer than average.

An interesting feature of life expectancy is that the older you get, the older you are expected to get. A woman might have a life expectancy of 79 at birth, but once she reaches 84, she's expected to live until 91.

The Social Security break-even point is the age when you come out ahead financially by waiting longer to file. Calculating your break-even point can help you choose the right time to claim.

If you have chronic health issues and don't think you'll live past your break-even point, you may end up with more Social Security by filing at 62. If you think you'll reach or exceed that point, filing at 70 may give you the largest payout.

If you're 62 and have enough assets to maintain your standard of living without claiming your benefit, you have the luxury of developing a claiming strategy. Maybe you're still working or you have another source of guaranteed lifetime income, such as a pension or annuity.

However, some people might need to receive benefits before full retirement age because they've been forced out of the workplace. There's no shame in claiming benefits at 62, and no one's handing out gold stars for waiting until age 70.

That said, if you have minimal retirement savings and will rely heavily on Social Security to fund your golden years, delaying to get a larger monthly benefit could make sense.

If you plan to keep working full-time, postponing your Social Security benefit to get a larger benefit later can make a lot of sense. Additional years of work can increase your benefit if you're earning more now than you did earlier in your career. If you claim while still working and you're younger than full retirement age, you also may have a portion of your benefit delayed due to the earnings limit.