Social Security at 62, 67 or 70: how to choose

You can start Social Security any month between 62 and 70. Start earlier and the monthly check is smaller. Wait and it grows. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 pays about 30% less, and each year you wait past 67 adds 8%, up to age 70 (SSA).

There's no single right answer. This guide gives you the numbers, a way to compare, and the questions that tend to decide it.

This is general education, not advice. Social Security has many rules this page can't cover. Check your own record at SSA.gov and talk with a licensed professional before you decide.

SSA figures checked October 15, 2026. They're approximate, because SSA rounds.

The three ages, side by side

Say your full benefit at 67 is $2,000 a month. This is a made-up number, to show the percentages:

• Claim at 62: about 70%, or around $1,400 a month
• Claim at 67: 100%, or $2,000 a month
• Claim at 70: about 124%, or around $2,480 a month

Each year's cost-of-living increase is added on top, whichever age you pick. The percentages come from SSA's own tables: a 30% reduction at 62 and an 8% credit for each year of waiting after full retirement age (same SSA source and SSA's delayed-credit page).

Where waiting catches up

Here's the arithmetic, using only SSA's percentages. It ignores taxes, investment returns and cost-of-living increases (both people get the same increases).

• 62 vs 67: Someone who starts at 62 collects five years of smaller checks first. Counting dollars alone, the person who waited catches up at about 78 and 8 months.
• 67 vs 70: The three-year wait catches up at about 82 and a half.

If you live past those ages, the larger check comes out ahead. If not, the earlier start does. Since no one can know which, many people choose based on peace of mind as much as math.

The case for starting earlier

• Your health or family history suggests a shorter life.
• You need the income now, and the alternative is debt or selling investments at a bad moment.
• You're single, with nobody who'd rely on your benefit later.

The case for waiting

• You might live a long time. A larger check that rises with inflation helps most in your 90s.
• You're married and the higher earner. A surviving spouse can receive up to 100% of a late spouse's benefit if they wait until their own full retirement age (SSA), so your choice can shape the survivor's income for years.
• Your savings can bridge the gap. Some people spend from savings in their 60s to buy a bigger lifetime check.

If you're still working

If you claim before full retirement age and keep earning, SSA holds back part of your check. In 2026 it's $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 (SSA). Pensions and investment income don't count, only pay from work. The money isn't lost: SSA recalculates your benefit upward at full retirement age.

How early retirement changes it

Your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of earnings, and missing years count as zero. If you stop work early, you may have fewer than 35. The formula is weighted toward your first dollars of earnings, so the drop is often smaller than people fear. The full guide, with a worked example, is When to claim Social Security if you stop work early.

A simple way to work through it

1. Get your numbers. Open a free my Social Security account. It shows your earnings record and estimates at 62, 67 and 70. Check every year in the record: a missing year can lower your benefit.
2. Try the calculator. The Social Security timing calculator shows your check at each age, where waiting catches up and what it takes from savings to wait. Nothing is saved or sent.
3. List the bridge years. If you'd wait, what covers the years before? The rule of 55 and other options are in Getting to your money before 59½.
4. Think as a household. If you're married, look at both records together. Talking to your partner about FIRE can help.
5. Remember Medicare. It usually starts at 65 no matter when you claim Social Security. See Medicare in plain English.

Boosting your savings first

If you're still working, catch-up contributions can add to what you save each year, which gives you more choice about when to claim.

Questions to ask yourself

1. What does my own estimate say at 62, 67 and 70?
2. How long did my parents and grandparents live, and how is my health?
3. If I'm married, which of us earned more?
4. Can my savings comfortably cover the years before I claim?
5. Will I still be earning before full retirement age?

Some people claim at 62 and sleep well. Others wait until 70 because a bigger lifetime check gives them peace of mind. Both are reasonable.

Next step

The free Retirement Readiness Checklist has a Social Security section, plus catch-up limits, the rule of 55 and health cover. It's printable, with 25 plain-English checks.

See the Retirement Readiness Checklist →

Want the calculator first? [Try the Social Security timing calculator →](/calculators/social-security) Or start with the FIRE Starter Workbook.