You can start Social Security retirement benefits at any age from 62 to 70. The earlier you start, the smaller each check is, for life. For anyone born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full amount, and waiting until 70 pays 124%. That’s a 77% difference in the monthly check based on nothing but timing.
Enter the benefit shown on your Social Security statement for full retirement age, pick a claiming age, and the calculator shows your monthly amount at every age from 62 to 70 and the age when waiting starts to pay off.
What each claiming age pays
Using a $2,000 benefit at full retirement age as the example, someone born in 1960 or later would get $1,400 a month by claiming at 62. At 65 it’s $1,733. At 67, their full retirement age, it’s the full $2,000. If they hold off until 70, the check grows to $2,480.
The gap between 62 and 70 here is $1,080 a month, or almost $13,000 a year. Cost of living increases are applied as a percentage, so that gap grows over time too.
How the reductions and credits work
The math is set by law, and it doesn’t change with the economy.
Before full retirement age, the benefit is cut by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim early. That’s 6.67% a year. For any months beyond 36, the cut is 5/12 of 1% a month, or 5% a year. Someone with a full retirement age of 67 who claims at 62 is 60 months early: 36 months at the first rate plus 24 at the second, for a total cut of 30%.
After full retirement age, delayed retirement credits add 2/3 of 1% a month, which is 8% a year. They stop at 70, so there’s no reason to wait past that birthday.
Full retirement age itself depends on your birth year. It’s 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. For people born from 1955 through 1959, it falls between 66 and 2 months and 66 and 10 months, rising two months per year. The calculator uses the right one for your year.
The break even age
Claiming early gives you more checks. Claiming later gives you bigger ones. At some point the total from the bigger checks catches up. For someone born in 1960 or later choosing between 62 and 67, that happens around age 78 and a half. Between 67 and 70, it’s about 82 and a half.
If you expect to live past those ages, waiting usually means more money over your lifetime. If you have health problems or a family history of dying young, or you simply need the money now, claiming earlier can make sense. There’s no single right answer. The break even age just helps you see the trade.
The calculation here ignores cost of living raises, taxes and the investment return you could earn on early checks. Adding those moves the break even age by a year or two, but the shape of the decision stays the same.
Things that change the math
Working before full retirement age. If you claim early and keep a job, the earnings limit can hold back part of your check. In 2027 that limit is $25,560 a year. Our earnings limit calculator shows how much would be withheld.
Being married. A spouse can get up to 50% of your full retirement age benefit, and a surviving spouse can get up to 100% of what you were receiving. If you’re the higher earner, waiting raises the survivor check your spouse would live on after you’re gone. For many couples, that’s the strongest argument for the higher earner to wait.
Medicare. Medicare starts at 65 no matter when you claim Social Security. If you’re getting benefits, the Part B premium comes out of your check. If you’re not, you pay it directly. Sign up on time either way, since late enrollment penalties for Part B last for life.
Taxes. Up to 85% of your benefit can be federally taxable if your other income is high enough. Claiming later while living on savings can sometimes reduce the tax over your retirement as a whole.
Questions people ask
Can I change my mind after I claim?
Within 12 months of starting benefits, you can withdraw your application once by filing Form SSA-521 and paying back everything you’ve received, including any benefits paid to family members on your record. After full retirement age, you can also ask SSA to suspend your benefit, which earns delayed credits until you restart or reach 70.
Does claiming at 62 lower my COLA?
The percentage is the same for everyone, but it applies to a smaller base. A 3.6% raise on $1,400 is about $50, while on $2,480 it’s about $89.
What’s my full retirement age if I was born on January 1?
SSA treats you as reaching an age the day before your birthday, so people born on January 1 use the rules for the previous birth year. For other birth dates, use your actual year.
Is it better to claim at 62 and invest the checks?
On paper it can work, if you earn a steady return and never touch the money. Most people who claim early spend the checks, though. And a bigger Social Security check rises with inflation and lasts as long as you live, which no investment account can promise. Claiming early to invest only makes sense if you’d really leave the money alone for twenty years.
Where do I find my full retirement age benefit?
Sign in to my Social Security at ssa.gov. Your statement lists estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70, based on your earnings so far. Use the full retirement age figure in the calculator. For the 2027 increase, try the Social Security increase calculator, and our article on Social Security at 62 vs 67 goes through more examples.
An estimate using SSA’s reduction and delayed credit rules. Your actual benefit depends on your earnings record and the date SSA approves your claim.