Overview
- Full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later, and every month you claim before that permanently lowers your monthly check.
- Claiming at 62 typically reduces monthly benefits by roughly 30% compared with waiting to full retirement age, while delaying past 67 raises payments through delayed-retirement credits up to age 70.
- Tax rules and the SSA earnings test can shrink the money you keep because up to 85% of benefits can be taxed depending on other income and earnings before FRA can trigger withholdings.
- Many people choose 62 because it is the earliest eligibility age or because of poor health or short-term money needs, but that choice can create long-term budget shortfalls and gaps in employer-based health coverage.
- Experts urge individualized planning, including checking benefit estimates, considering the option to withdraw a claim within strict time limits, and weighing fears about projected trust-fund shortfalls against personal finances.