Social Security at 62, 67 or 70: What Waiting Is Worth

Most people can start Social Security retirement benefits at any age from 62 to 70. The choice is yours. But the age you pick changes the size of every check you will get for the rest of your life.

Start early and the checks are smaller, but you get more of them. Wait and the checks are larger, but they start later. Neither path is right for everyone. This article walks through the numbers so the trade-off is easier to see.

What is my full retirement age?

Your full retirement age is the age at which Social Security pays your full benefit. The full benefit is the amount based on your lifetime earnings, with nothing taken off and nothing added.

Your full retirement age depends on the year you were born. For people born from 1943 to 1954, it is 66. It then rises by two months for each birth year: 66 and 2 months for 1955, 66 and 4 months for 1956, 66 and 6 months for 1957, 66 and 8 months for 1958, and 66 and 10 months for 1959. For anyone born in 1960 or later, it is 67.

One small rule surprises people. If you were born on the first day of a month, Social Security treats you as if you were born in the month before. If you were born on January 1, look at the year before yours.

How much do I lose by claiming at 62?

If your full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 cuts your monthly check by 30%. You get 70% of your full benefit. The cut is permanent. It does not go away when you reach 67.

The cut shrinks for each month you wait. At 63 you get 75%. At 64 you get 80%. At 65 you get about 86.7%, and at 66 about 93.3%. At 67 you get 100%.

How much do I gain by waiting past full retirement age?

Waiting past full retirement age earns what Social Security calls delayed retirement credits. These are increases added to your check for each month you hold off. For people born in 1943 or later, the credit is 8% a year, or two-thirds of 1% a month.

With a full retirement age of 67, that means 108% at 68, 116% at 69 and 124% at 70. Then the credits stop. In the agency's words, "When you reach age 70, your monthly benefit stops increasing even if you continue to delay taking benefits." There is no money to be gained by waiting past 70.

What is the breakeven age?

The breakeven age is the point where waiting catches up. Someone who starts early collects checks for longer. Someone who waits collects bigger checks. At some age, the total paid to the person who waited passes the total paid to the person who started early.

Here is a simple example. Imagine a person whose full benefit at 67 is $2,000 a month. The numbers below use only the SSA percentages above. They leave out yearly cost-of-living raises and taxes, so they are a sketch, not a forecast.

In this example, starting at 62 puts the early claimer $84,000 ahead by age 67. After that, the person who waited gets $600 more each month. That gap closes after about 11 years and 8 months, or around age 78 and 8 months.

Comparing 67 with 70 works the same way. The person who started at 67 is $72,000 ahead by age 70. The person who waited gets $480 more each month. The gap closes at about age 82 and a half. Comparing 62 with 70, it closes a little after age 80.

Breakeven math has limits. It counts dollars, not needs. It also leaves out what money could earn if it were invested, and what it costs to draw down savings while you wait. Still, it turns a vague question into a simple one: how long might I live?

How long can a 65-year-old expect to live?

Social Security's actuaries publish life tables. In the latest period table, a man who is exactly 65 can expect about 18.1 more years, to about age 83. A woman who is 65 can expect about 20.7 more years, to almost 86.

Averages hide a wide spread. Using the same table, about 45% of 65-year-old men and about 57% of 65-year-old women live to 85. About 24% of men and 35% of women live to 90. Your own health and family history may point higher or lower.

How does my choice affect my spouse?

For married couples, the choice reaches beyond one person. While both spouses are alive, a spouse can get up to 50% of the worker's full benefit. That cap is based on the full benefit at full retirement age, so the worker's delayed credits do not raise it.

Survivor benefits work differently. When one spouse dies, the survivor can get between 71.5% and 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit, depending on the survivor's age when they claim. Federal rules say delayed retirement credits earned by the worker are counted in the surviving spouse's benefit.

This means the higher earner's claiming age may matter for many years after their death. A bigger check at 70 can become the survivor's check. For couples where one spouse is likely to outlive the other by a long time, this is often a central part of the decision.

What else changes the numbers?

Social Security checks rise with a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. A COLA is a yearly raise tied to inflation. Benefits rose 2.8% for 2026. SSA has announced a 3.6% increase for 2027. Because the COLA is a percentage, a larger starting check gets a larger raise in dollars.

Working while you collect can also matter. If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, the earnings test may hold back part of your benefit. For 2026, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the year you reach full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above $65,160, counting only months before your birthday month. Starting the month you reach full retirement age, there is no limit. SSA then recalculates your benefit to credit the months it held back.

Why do people claim early, and why do they wait?

There are sound reasons on both sides. People who claim early often cite reasons like these:

• Health problems, or a family history of shorter lives.
• Little other savings, and a need for income now.
• Leaving work earlier than planned, by choice or not.
• A wish to keep savings untouched while drawing a steady check.
• Being the lower earner in a couple, where the higher earner plans to wait.

People who wait often cite reasons like these:

• Good health, or a family history of long lives.
• Other savings or work income to live on in the meantime.
• A larger check that rises with inflation and lasts for life.
• Protection for a spouse who may become a survivor.
• Less worry about market drops later on, a theme covered in The First Five Years Decide the Next Thirty.

What should I ask before I file?

1. What exactly is my full retirement age, based on my birth date?
2. What will my check be at 62, at my full retirement age and at 70?
3. What other income or savings will cover my costs if I wait?
4. How does my health, and my family's history, compare with the averages?
5. If I am married, what will my spouse get as a survivor under each choice?
6. Will I keep working before full retirement age, and how will the earnings test apply?
7. How will taxes on my benefits and other income look each year?

There is no single right age. Health, savings, work plans and marriage all pull in different directions. The decision is easier when you look at your own numbers, not the averages.

This article is educational and is not financial advice. Check your own numbers with your my Social Security account at ssa.gov.

Social Security can answer questions about your record, and an independent advisor can help you weigh the choice against the rest of your plan. If you would like help finding one, our advisor match is one place to start.