Should I Claim Social Security At 62, 67 Or 70?Claiming Social Security At 62, 67 Or 70.
Your claiming age sets the starting size of your monthly check, and for a married couple it can shape the survivor’s check too. These are the Social Security Administration’s own rules, laid out plainly.
The Short Answer
For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67 (SSA counts a January 1 birthday as the year before). Claiming at 62 pays 70 percent of the full benefit; waiting past 67 adds two-thirds of one percent for each month you delay, so claiming at 70 pays 124 percent.
Source: Social Security Administration
Three Percentages From SSA’s Rules
- 70%
- Of your full benefit at 62 when full retirement age is 67, after a 30% reduction for 60 early months.
- 8%
- Added for each year you wait past full retirement age, at two-thirds of 1% per month.
- 124%
- Of your full benefit at 70, after 36 months of delayed retirement credits.
The Claiming Range
What Each Claiming Age Pays, Born 1960 Or Later
Each stop shows the share of your full retirement benefit, worked out from SSA’s reduction and delayed-credit rules.
- Age 6270%
- Age 6375%
- Age 6480%
- Age 6586.7%
- Age 6693.3%
- Age 67100%
- Age 68108%
- Age 70124%
Before Full Retirement Age
SSA reduces your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 early months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that.
After Full Retirement Age
Each month you wait adds 2/3 of 1%, or 8% a year, until the month you turn 70.
What Is My Full Retirement Age?
Full retirement age is the age at which Social Security pays your unreduced benefit. SSA’s rules set it at 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. It was 66 for people born from 1943 through 1954, then rose two months per birth year for 1955 through 1959.
SSA treats a January 1 birthday as belonging to the year before, so someone born January 1, 1960 has a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months. Your full retirement age matters twice: it is where early-claiming reductions end and where delayed retirement credits begin.
How Much Smaller Is My Check If I Claim At 62?
SSA reduces your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim before full retirement age, and by 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond 36. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 means 60 early months: 20% for the first 36 and 10% for the other 24, a 30% reduction.
For example, a full benefit of $2,000 a month becomes $1,400 at 62, $1,600 at 64 and about $1,733 at 65. If you are married and the higher earner, an early claim can also follow your spouse into widowhood, which the spouse question below explains.
How Much Does Waiting Until 70 Add?
For anyone born after January 1, 1943, each month you wait past full retirement age earns a delayed retirement credit worth 2/3 of 1%, or 8% a year. With a full retirement age of 67, the most you can earn is 36 months of credits, a 24% increase, so the $2,000 benefit in the example becomes $2,480 at 70.
Credits stop the month you turn 70, so 70 is the latest claiming age that pays more. The credits also carry over to a surviving spouse’s benefit, which makes the higher earner’s claiming age a decision for both spouses.
How Does My Claiming Age Affect My Spouse?
A spouse’s benefit can be up to one-half of the worker’s full benefit, called the primary insurance amount, when the spouse claims at their own full retirement age. Claimed earlier, it is reduced by 25/36 of 1% for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that.
The survivor benefit works differently. A widow or widower who claims at full retirement age can receive the worker’s full benefit plus any delayed retirement credits the worker earned. If the worker claimed early, SSA reduces the survivor’s benefit to what the worker would be receiving, or 82½% of the worker’s full benefit, whichever is larger. The higher earner’s claiming age shapes the income the surviving spouse lives on.
Can I Work And Collect Social Security Before Full Retirement Age?
Yes, subject to SSA’s retirement earnings test. If you are under full retirement age for the whole year, SSA withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit: $24,480 in 2026 and $25,560 in 2027. In the year you reach full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above a higher limit, $65,160 in 2026 and $67,920 in 2027, counting only earnings in the months before you reach it.
Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings test stops. If you plan to keep a paycheck into your 60s, that withholding belongs in the claiming decision.
How Does Social Security Timing Connect To Medicare?
Medicare starts at 65, two years before full retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later. If you already get Social Security benefits at least four months before you turn 65, Medicare.gov says you get Part A and Part B automatically. If you wait to claim, you sign up for Medicare yourself through Social Security during your seven-month Initial Enrollment Period, or you risk a Part B late enrollment penalty.
Claiming Social Security after 65 also starts Part A automatically, which matters if you contribute to a Health Savings Account. When to sign up for Medicare lays out the dates.
Is Social Security Taxable, And Does That Change The Timing?
Part of your benefit can be taxable, depending on your other income. The IRS adds one-half of your benefits to your other income and compares the total with a base amount: $25,000 for most single filers and $32,000 for married couples filing jointly. Above that, part of your benefit may be taxable, generally up to 50%, and up to 85% at higher incomes.
That ties your claiming age to everything else you draw, including IRA withdrawals and required minimum distributions. MJR Financial does not give tax or Social Security advice, so Maartin builds the income plan alongside your CPA, and the claiming decision stays yours.
Next Step
Talk It Through
A private conversation with Maartin about how this fits your own plan. In person on Arlington Avenue, by Zoom or by phone.
Book A Retirement Review Or call 951.774.0866Questions
Common Questions
What is the earliest age to claim Social Security retirement benefits?
Age 62. Under SSA’s rules you are entitled to retirement benefits once you are at least 62, have enough Social Security earnings to be fully insured and apply.
Do delayed retirement credits raise my spouse’s benefit?
Not while you are both living. SSA’s rules say your delayed retirement credits don’t increase benefits for other family members on your record, but they are used to compute the benefit for a surviving spouse.
When can a widow or widower start survivor benefits?
As early as 60 based on age, with a reduction for each month before the survivor’s own full retirement age. Claiming at full retirement age avoids that reduction.
What happens if I keep working after full retirement age?
The earnings test applies only before full retirement age, so from then on SSA withholds nothing because of your earnings. If you haven’t claimed yet, each month you wait until 70 still earns delayed retirement credits.
How much will Social Security benefits rise in 2027?
SSA has announced a 3.6% cost-of-living increase for people eligible for December 2026 benefits, payable in January 2027.
Does MJR Financial tell me when to claim?
No. MJR Financial does not give Social Security advice. Maartin shows how each claiming age fits your wider income plan using SSA’s published rules, and the decision stays yours.
Sources
- Full retirement age 66 for 1943-54, rising to 67 for those born 1960 or later
- FRA chart, including 66 and 10 months for births 1/2/59 through 1/1/60 and 67 for 1/2/60 and later
- Reduction of 5/9 of 1% for first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% beyond; 20% for 36 months; 60 months at 62 with FRA 67
- Old-age reduction rule in regulation
- Delayed retirement credit 2/3% a month, 8% a year; FRA 67 maximum 36 months and 24%
- Delayed retirement credits run from FRA through the month you attain 70; used for surviving spouse; not for other family members
- Spouse’s benefit equals one-half of the insured person’s primary insurance amount
- Survivor benefit equals the worker’s PIA, increased by DRCs; if worker claimed early, reduced to worker’s amount or 82½% of PIA, whichever is larger
- Earliest retirement benefit age is 62, fully insured, and you apply
- 2026 earnings test limits $24,480 and $65,160
- Automatic Medicare when Social Security starts at least 4 months before 65; Part A automatic when benefits start
- Seven-month Initial Enrollment Period
- Taxation of benefits: one-half of benefits plus other income vs base amount $25,000 / $32,000; generally up to 50%, up to 85% taxable
Please Note
Education, not advice. MJR Financial & Insurance Services does not give tax, legal or Social Security advice; please consult your own professionals.
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