The basic rule
- You can start retirement benefits as early as 62, at a reduced monthly amount. The reduction is permanent.
- At your full retirement age you receive your full benefit. That age is between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born. For anyone born in 1960 or later, it is 67.
- Each year you wait past full retirement age raises your monthly benefit, up to age 70. After 70 there is no extra increase for waiting.
Your own estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70 are at ssa.gov/myaccount. Bring them to your first meeting.
Tim's twin brother Tom
Tim likes to explain this with his twin brother, Tom. Tim doesn't have a twin. But suppose he did, and they had the same earnings record.
Tim claims early. Tom waits until 70 for the bigger check. While Tom waits, Tim is collecting. So Tom starts with a larger monthly amount, but he starts behind in total dollars received. At some point there may be a crossover where Tom catches up.
Here's the point: the crossover alone doesn't tell you which choice is right. How long might you live? Are you married? What would a surviving spouse receive? Are you still working? Do you need the income now? What else could you live on while you wait? What about taxes?
The question isn't "which age wins?" It's "which choice fits the rest of my plan?"
If you're married, it's a decision for two
- A spouse may be able to receive a spousal benefit of up to half of the other spouse's full retirement age benefit, if that is more than their own.
- When one spouse dies, the survivor generally keeps the larger of the two benefits, and the smaller one stops. That's why the higher earner's claiming age can shape the survivor's income for decades.
Read more on planning for a surviving spouse.
Other things that affect the decision
- Working while you collect. Before full retirement age, Social Security may hold back part of your benefit if your earnings pass a yearly limit.
- Taxes. Depending on your other income, part of your benefit can be taxable.
- Medicare. Premiums for Medicare Part B are usually taken out of your Social Security check, and higher incomes pay more.
Tim is a National Social Security Advisor (NSSA). In your first meeting we compare your choices side by side, including what each one means for a surviving spouse.
This page is educational. It is not tax, legal or investment advice, and rules change. We check the current rules against your own situation before you decide anything.