Social Security timing: when to claim

You can start collecting Social Security as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. Every year you wait, your monthly benefit grows. Between 62 and 70, your benefit increases by roughly 77% in total (from 75% of your 'full retirement age' benefit to 132%). This is one of the most valuable inflation-adjusted annuities on earth, and when you claim changes the math enormously.

The options, simplified

• Age 62 (earliest): you get the smallest monthly check. Useful if you genuinely need the income, or if health or family history suggests a shorter lifespan.
• Age 67 or so (full retirement age): you get your baseline benefit with no penalty.
• Age 70 (latest): you get the largest monthly check — 32% more than at full retirement age. No further increases after 70.

The breakeven math

If you delay from 62 to 70, you give up 8 years of payments in exchange for a much larger check for the rest of your life. The breakeven age — where delayed claiming starts beating early claiming in total dollars — is typically around 78–82. Live past that, delaying wins. Die before it, early claiming wins.

Spousal considerations

For married couples, claiming strategy is more complex. The higher earner delaying often makes sense because their benefit sets the floor for the surviving spouse. A widow/widower inherits the larger of the two benefits. For a long retirement, the math often favors the higher earner delaying as long as possible.