Pros and Cons of Taking Social Security at Age 62 vs. 67 vs. 70

Glenn Kirst is a lead planning excellence consultant at Northwestern Mutual.

As you approach retirement, you’ll find timing your decision to officially retire hinges on a lot of variables. There’s a lot to consider beyond just being ready to stop working.

You’ll have to think about how the different pieces of your financial plan will work together once you retire. One important part of the plan is deciding when to claim Social Security. While you’re eligible claim at 62, there may be benefits to waiting until age 67 or 70.

Below, we discuss why timing is so important when it comes to your Social Security benefits. We also walk through the pros and cons of claiming Social Security at 62 vs. 67 vs. 70 to help guide your thinking.

Why does age matter when you claim Social Security?

Social Security is a government program designed to give American workers a source of income during retirement. It also provides disability and survivors’ benefits if you meet certain eligibility requirements.

The program works like this: In your working years, you are required to contribute a certain portion of your income to Social Security. If you work for an employer, you contribute 6.2 percent of your pay, and your employer pays 6.2 percent. If you are self-employed, you pay the full 12.4 percent yourself (up to a certain amount).

Each year you work and earn the minimum amount required ($6,920 for 2024), you receive a maximum of four credits. Once you have earned 40 credits (usually after 10 years of work), you become eligible to receive Social Security payments.

To receive the full amount you’re entitled to, you must have reached a certain age, known as your full retirement age. The full retirement age is between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born. You can claim benefits before or after your full retirement age—but doing so will change the amount you receive.

If you choose to claim Social Security before you reach full retirement age, you’ll receive a lower monthly payment for the rest of your life. Exactly how much of a reduction you see will depend on how early you start claiming. If, on the other hand, you choose to delay claiming Social Security, you’ll see your benefit increase by 8 percent for every year you delay until age 70.

How to decide when to take Social Security

As you can see, the age at which you choose to start claiming Social Security will impact how much you receive from the program over your lifetime.

While it might seem beneficial to delay claiming benefits as long as possible to get the largest possible monthly benefit, this isn’t always possible—or even recommended. Your Social Security benefit is only one part of your financial picture, so depending on other factors specific to your situation, claiming early might be the best move.

Some factors you may consider when deciding when to take Social Security include:

• Your health and whether you can continue working.

• Your desire to continue working or transition into retirement.

• Benefits your spouse is receiving or entitled to.

• What other retirement savings you have.

There’s a lot here to think about. A financial advisor can help you sort through all these factors and look at your broader plan to help you weigh your options.

Taking Social Security at age 62

Age 62 is the earliest you can claim Social Security benefits. This is considered early retirement in the eyes of the Social Security Administration.

As noted above, however, claiming Social Security at 62 will result in reduced payments—as much as a 30 percent reduction vs. what you would be entitled to if you retired at your full retirement age. You can also claim at any point after reaching age 62. The closer you get to full retirement age, the smaller the reduction gets.

If claiming early means you’ll get less money, you may wonder why anyone would choose to do this. Again—it all depends on your personal situation. Some situations in which it might make sense to claim early include these:

• You’re no longer able to work and don’t have enough savings to see you through until you reach full retirement age.

• You have a chronic condition or family history of illness that could affect your life expectancy.

• Your spouse earns a higher income and can wait to start claiming a benefit.

Taking Social Security at age 67

For many people (anyone born in 1960 or after), age 67 is considered the full retirement age. Your full retirement age depends on when you were born.

If you wait to claim until full retirement age , you’re entitled to receive your full Social Security benefit. To calculate this benefit, the Social Security Administration averages your highest 35 years’ worth of your reported earnings using a special formula. Generally, the more you earned (up to a certain amount), the higher your benefit will be.

There are benefits to waiting until full retirement age if you’re able to, including these:

• More years on the job (especially later in your career, when pay may be higher) can help you displace lower-earning years in your work history and boost your monthly check.

• You can continue working (if you want) without worrying about the income limits that can reduce the benefit amount for early retirees.

• When you pass, your spouse would receive a larger survivor’s benefit compared to if you had claimed earlier.

Taking Social Security at age 70

For each month past your full retirement age that you delay claiming Social Security, your monthly benefit will increase, up until you reach 70 years old. Each full year of delay will translate into an 8 percent increase to your benefit. While it’s possible to continue delaying Social Security past your 70th birthday, doing so won’t net you any additional benefit increases—so be sure to file no later than age 70.

Waiting until you reach age 70 to claim Social Security may make sense for you if:

• You want to receive the highest possible monthly amount you are entitled to from Social Security.

• You want to ensure your spouse will receive the highest possible survivor’s benefit if you pass.

• You’re in good health and expect to live a long life, especially past the average life expectancy.

How do you know when you should retire?

When you retire and when you choose to claim Social Security benefits are two different decisions. When you choose to retire will depend on many factors—like what you have saved, your health and other life circumstances. When you choose to claim Social Security may not necessarily line up with when you choose to retire. Still, it’s an important decision, as it’ll impact your retirement income for the rest of your life.

There is no one “right age” to claim that applies to everyone. While there are certainly benefits to delaying, claiming benefits early could make more sense for some people.

There’s a lot you’ll want to consider when timing your decision: your health and ability to work, your spouse’s health and ability to work, your life expectancy, your other retirement savings and more. Because there are so many factors at play, working with a financial advisor is often the easiest and best way to make the right decision for you.

By the time you retire, your financial advisor will know your financial situation well. They’ll be able to show you how different claiming decisions will shift your overall financial picture, giving you the information you need to make the right decision for you.