Social Security at 62 vs. 67: when should you claim?
You can claim Social Security as early as 62, but if your full retirement age is 67 your check will be 30% smaller for life. Waiting until 70 makes it 24% bigger than at 67. If you live past your late 70s, waiting usually pays off.
How much you get at each age
For anyone born in 1960 or later (full retirement age 67), here’s the share of your full benefit you get, and what that means for a $2,000 full benefit:
| Claim at | Share of full benefit | Monthly check (on a $2,000 benefit) |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70% | $1,400 |
| 63 | 75% | $1,500 |
| 64 | 80% | $1,600 |
| 65 | 86.7% | $1,733 |
| 66 | 93.3% | $1,867 |
| 67 | 100% | $2,000 |
| 68 | 108% | $2,160 |
| 69 | 116% | $2,320 |
| 70 | 124% | $2,480 |
Claiming early cuts your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each month in the first 36 months before full retirement age, and 5/12 of 1% for each month before that. Waiting past full retirement age adds 2/3 of 1% for each month, or 8% a year, until 70.
Your full retirement age
| Year born | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1943–1954 | 66 |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 or later | 67 |
The break-even age
Claiming at 62 gets you five extra years of checks, but smaller ones. Adding up the total paid out:
- 62 vs. 67: waiting catches up at about age 79.
- 67 vs. 70: waiting catches up at about age 82 or 83.
These are simple totals in today’s dollars, ignoring what you could earn by investing early checks. The takeaway: if you expect to live into your 80s, as many 62-year-olds do, waiting usually pays more over your lifetime.
Who should claim early, and who should wait
Claiming at 62 can make sense if:
- you have health problems or a family history of shorter lifespans,
- you need the income and have little savings to bridge the gap, or
- you’re the lower earner in a couple and your spouse is delaying.
Waiting until 67 or 70 can make sense if:
- you’re healthy and have long-lived parents,
- you have savings to live on in the meantime, or
- you’re the higher earner in a couple, since your spouse may inherit your benefit.
Waiting is also a form of longevity insurance: a bigger, inflation-adjusted check that lasts as long as you do.
Retiring and claiming are separate decisions
You can stop working at 62 and still wait to claim. Your savings cover the gap, and you lock in a bigger check. Our calculator handles this: set your Social Security start age under Advanced options, and it adds the cost of the gap years to your retirement number.