In 2024, around 841,000 workers filed for Social Security at age 62, the earliest and most common age Americans choose to start. This is an expensive age to file. A worker whose full retirement age is 67 gives up as much as 30% of the monthly payment by claiming five years early.
Whether that is a mistake depends on who is doing it, but delaying your claim is usually the better idea.
Why the delay usually pays
Every year past full retirement age adds about 8% to the check, up to age 70. For example, a worker with a full retirement age of 67 and a payment of $2,000 a month at that age would get about $1,400 at 62, and about $2,480 at 70. Cost-of-living raises then build on the bigger number every year after.
The math favors patience for most people. A 2023 analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that more than 90% of workers would collect more over their lifetimes by holding out until 70. Only about 1 in 10 do. For households in that age group, filing early costs a median of roughly $182,370 in lifetime spending power, the analysis estimated.
Of course, these numbers depend on living long enough to come out ahead, and a disciplined saver who claims early and invests instead of spending could come out ahead.
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The rule married couples miss
When one spouse dies, the survivor does not keep both checks. They keep the larger one, and the smaller stops.
This is why the higher earner’s timing matters most. Waiting until 70 sets the survivor benefit the widow or widower will live on. Claiming at 62 locks it in low for good.
One workaround fits couples with a wide income gap. The lower earner claims early to bring in money now, while the higher earner’s benefit keeps growing toward 70.
When claiming at 62 is right
Poor health is the clearest case. If you are unlikely to reach your mid-80s, the early checks can total more than the larger ones you might not collect.
Money is the other. Someone pushed out of work at 62 with thin savings may need the income now, and a smaller Social Security check can beat running up credit card debt or selling investments in a down market.
Run your own number
The right age is not the average age. It depends on your health, your savings, and whether a spouse will depend on your benefit after you are gone, so the answer may differ based on individual circumstances.
Check your Social Security statement to see what you would get at each age from 62 to 70. Stricly speaking, those 841,000 filers are not “wrong,” but many of them could have locked in a higher benefit for life by waiting.
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