Retirement and Social Security
Comparing Social Security Claiming Ages
Compare Social Security claiming ages 62, full retirement age, and 70: how early claims cut your check, how waiting raises it by 8% a year, and how to pick the age that fits your life.
You get to choose when your Social Security checks start. You can start as early as age 62. You can wait as late as age 70. The age you pick sets the size of your check for the rest of your life. A check that starts early is smaller each month. A check that starts late is larger each month. There is no one right age for all people. The best age for you rests on your health, your job, your savings, and your family.
This guide is part of our Aging at Home hub. Its sister guides cover preparing for retirement with a practical planning checklist, working while receiving retirement benefits, and understanding spousal, divorced spouse, and survivor benefits.
Key takeaways
- You can start retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the check is cut for life.
- Full retirement age is 66 to 67, based on the year you were born. It is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later.
- If your full retirement age is 67 and you start at 62, your check is cut by 30%. A $1,000 check at full retirement age drops to $700 at age 62.
- If you wait past full retirement age, your check grows by 8% for each year you wait, up to age 70.
- Medicare starts at age 65 no matter when you claim. If you wait to claim, still sign up for Medicare at 65.
The three ages that shape your choice
Three ages frame the whole choice. The first is 62, the first age you can claim. The second is your full retirement age, the age when you get your full check. The third is 70, the last age that adds to your check.
Full retirement age is not the same for all people. The Social Security Administration sets it by your birth year. If you were born from 1943 to 1954, your full retirement age is 66. It then rises by two months for each birth year. If you were born in 1955, it is 66 and 2 months. If you were born in 1959, it is 66 and 10 months. If you were born in 1960 or later, it is 67.
Most people who make this choice now face a full retirement age of 67. So the real choice for most readers is this: start at 62 with a much smaller check, start at 67 with the full check, or wait to 70 for the largest check.
What happens if you claim at 62
Age 62 is the first age you can start retirement benefits. The Social Security Administration is clear on the trade. You get checks for more years, but each check is smaller, and the cut lasts for life.
The cut grows with each month you start early. If your full retirement age is 67, a start at age 62 is 60 months early. The total cut is 30%. So a benefit of $1,000 a month at full retirement age drops to $700 a month at age 62. If your full retirement age is 66, a start at 62 is 48 months early, and the cut is 25%. A $1,000 check drops to $750.
A spouse check is cut too. The same chart shows a $500 spouse benefit at full retirement age drops to $325 at age 62 when the worker's full retirement age is 67. That is a cut of 35%. If you claim early, think about both checks, not just your own.
Why do people claim at 62 in spite of the cut? Some have lost a job and need the cash now. Some have poor health. Some want to stop work, and the check makes that possible. These are real reasons. Claim early with your eyes open, not by default.
What happens if you wait to full retirement age
At full retirement age, you get 100% of your benefit. No cut for an early start. No bonus for a late start. This is the base line all other ages are measured from.
For many people, this age is a sound middle path. You do not take the deep cut that comes with a start at 62. You also do not have to fund five or more years of life with no Social Security check at all. If you still work at this age, full retirement age has one more plus. The earnings test no longer applies once you reach it. Our guide on working while receiving retirement benefits walks through how work and benefits fit together.
What happens if you wait to age 70
If you wait past full retirement age, your check grows. The Social Security Administration calls this growth delayed retirement credits. For people born in 1943 or later, the credit is 8% for each full year you wait. That is 2/3 of 1% for each month.
Say your full retirement age is 67 and your full check would be $1,000. Wait one year, to 68, and the check grows by 8%. Wait to 70, three full years, and it grows by 24% in all. The growth stops at age 70. There is no gain from a wait past 70, so do not delay past that age.
A wait to 70 pays off most if you live a long life, since the larger check comes each month for the rest of your life. It can also help a spouse. A higher check for the worker can mean a higher survivor benefit later. You can read more in our guide on understanding spousal, divorced spouse, and survivor benefits.
The hard part of a wait is the gap. From 62 to 70 is eight years with no check. You need savings, a job, or a spouse's check to bridge those years. If the bridge is not there, a wait to 70 may not be a real choice, and that is fine.
A side-by-side look at the same worker
Put the three ages next to each other for one worker. Say this worker was born in 1960 or later, so full retirement age is 67. Say the full check at 67 would be $1,000 a month.
The early start gives you checks for five more years than the start at 67. The late start gives you a much larger check each month once checks begin. Which path pays more in all rests on how long you live. No one knows that. So weigh the monthly amount you need, not just the lifetime total. A larger check late in life, when work is no longer an option, is worth a lot to many people.
- Start at 62: $700 a month, after a cut of 30%.
- Start at 67: $1,000 a month, the full check.
- Start at 70: about $1,240 a month, after three years of credits at 8% a year.
Who covers what
Social Security is a federal benefit paid by the Social Security Administration. It is not Medicare, and it is not Medicaid. Your claiming age does not change when Medicare starts. Medicare starts at age 65 for most people. The Social Security Administration gives this advice: if you delay your retirement benefits past age 65, still sign up for Medicare at age 65. If you sign up late, your Medicare coverage may start late and may cost more. Claiming Social Security early does not start Medicare early either. If you claim at 62, you still wait to 65 for Medicare, so plan how you will cover health care in those years.
When you plan the years from 62 to 65, health costs are part of the math. Our planning guide, preparing for retirement with a practical planning checklist, helps you list those costs side by side with your income.
- Social Security: pays your retirement check. The size rests on your work record and the age you claim.
- Medicare: health coverage that starts at 65. Sign up at 65 even if you delay your retirement check.
- Medicaid: a state and federal health program based on income. It is separate from your claiming choice.
Sample Situation
James is 62 and was born in 1963, so his full retirement age is 67. His full check at 67 would be $1,500 a month. He does the math for each age. At 62, his check would be cut by 30%, to $1,050 a month. At 67, he would get the full $1,500. At 70, three years of delayed retirement credits at 8% a year would lift it by 24%, to about $1,860 a month. James still works part time and likes his job. His health is good, and his wife is two years younger and plans to claim on her own record. They have savings to cover the gap. He decides to keep working, sign up for Medicare at 65, and claim at 70. He writes the plan down and checks it each year, since a job loss or a health change could shift the choice.
How to make your own choice
Start with your own numbers. Make a free account on the Social Security Administration site at ssa.gov and read your statement. It shows what your check would be at 62, at full retirement age, and at 70, based on your own work record. Real numbers beat guesses.
Then ask a few plain questions. How is your health, and how long do people in your family tend to live? Do you need the cash now, or can you wait? Do you plan to keep working? Does a spouse count on your check, now or as a survivor? There is no test that gives one right answer. There is just the age that fits your life, your health, and your funds best.
For most people, the claiming choice is for life. Take your time, run your own numbers, and talk it over with the people who share your budget.
Your next step
Your claiming age shapes your income, and your health costs shape it too. When you are ready to look at health coverage for the years after 65, our Medicare Supplement section shows how Medigap plans work with Original Medicare, so you can plan both sides of your budget at once.
Sources
Next step on Care and Living Guide
Medicare Supplement plans — Compare Medicare Supplement plans and what they cover.