When to Claim Social Security
What each claiming age does to your benefit, and what to weigh.
You can start Social Security in any month between ages 62 and 70. Once it starts, the monthly amount is largely set for the rest of your life, apart from yearly cost-of-living increases.
For a family with significant savings, Social Security is a smaller part of retirement income. It matters more than its size suggests: it rises with inflation, it lasts as long as you do, and for a married couple the larger of the two benefits continues after the first death.
1 · Social Security claiming ages, from 62 to 70
Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Every reduction and increase is measured from it.
| Claiming age | Monthly benefit, compared with the full amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | About 30% lower | The earliest you can start. The earnings limit applies if you are still working |
| 62 to 67 | Lower for each month before 67 | Counted month by month, so starting even one month later raises the benefit a little |
| 67 | The full amount | No reduction. The earnings limit stops applying |
| 67 to 70 | 8% higher for each year past 67 | Built up month by month, so waiting part of a year still counts |
| 70 | About 24% above the full amount | The increases for waiting stop here. Cost-of-living increases continue |
From age 62, cost-of-living increases apply even before you start benefits, so waiting does not mean missing them. Current dollar figures are on The Tax Numbers.
There are two ways to change course after starting. Within 12 months of starting, you can withdraw your application, once in your life, by paying back everything you received. Once you reach full retirement age, you can pause your benefit and earn the 8% yearly increase until you restart it, no later than 70.
2 · Social Security break-even math, and what it leaves out
The break-even age is how long you would have to live for waiting to pay more in total than claiming early. It turns the decision into a bet on your own lifespan.
| What it leaves out | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| What the money is for | Waiting buys a larger monthly benefit that rises with inflation and lasts as long as you do. That protects against outliving your savings, which a total-dollars comparison does not capture |
| What waiting costs | You usually live on savings until benefits start. If markets fall during those years, waiting costs more. Sequence-of-Returns Risk covers why |
| The survivor benefit | For a married couple, this often matters more than either of the others |
3 · Social Security survivor benefits for married couples
When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two benefits, and the smaller one stops. The higher earner’s claiming age sets that larger benefit, so when the higher earner waits, the survivor’s income goes up too.
| Higher earner’s full benefit: $4,000 a month | Higher earner receives | Survivor later receives |
|---|---|---|
| Claims at 62 | About $2,800 a month | About $3,300 a month |
| Claims at 70 | About $4,960 a month | About $4,960 a month |
Hypothetical round numbers, before cost-of-living increases, with the survivor claiming at their own full retirement age. A survivor of someone who claimed early receives at least 82.5% of the deceased’s full benefit.
In this example, waiting gives the survivor about $1,660 more every month for the rest of their life. For a couple with a real gap between their benefits, that often decides the question. A common approach follows from this: the lower earner claims earlier and the higher earner waits, since the smaller benefit stops at the first death anyway.
4 · Social Security spousal and survivor benefits, side by side
The two are easy to confuse. They work differently when you wait.
| Spousal benefit | Survivor benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Paid to a living spouse, based on the other spouse’s work record | Paid to a widow or widower, based on the deceased spouse’s record |
| When it can start | Only after the other spouse has started their own benefit. Earliest at 62, reduced | After the spouse’s death. Earliest at 60, reduced, or 50 if disabled |
| Most it can be | Up to half of the other spouse’s full benefit | Up to 100% of what the deceased was receiving or was owed |
| Waiting | Grows until your own full retirement age, then stops | Grows until your own full retirement age, then stops. The deceased’s increases from waiting carry over |
Waiting past full retirement age raises your own benefit, and the survivor benefit your spouse may receive. It does nothing for a spousal benefit.
5 · Claiming Social Security while still working
Before full retirement age, earning more than a set amount from work holds back part of your benefit. Investment income and pensions don’t count. After full retirement age, nothing is held back.
| When | Benefit held back |
|---|---|
| Years before full retirement age | $1 for every $2 earned above the limit |
| The year you reach full retirement age | $1 for every $3 above a higher limit, counting only earnings before the month you reach it |
| From full retirement age on | Nothing |
The money held back is not lost outright. At full retirement age the benefit is recalculated to account for the months withheld, so it comes back gradually. Current limits are on The Tax Numbers.
6 · Low-tax years before claiming Social Security
Between retiring and starting Social Security, there are often a few years of unusually low taxable income: the paycheck has stopped and the benefit has not started. Those years are a natural time for Roth conversions and for taking gains on purpose. Social Security and required minimum distributions from retirement accounts both raise income later, so waiting to claim keeps the window open longer. Planning for Taxes covers the order of withdrawals.
7 · Social Security, taxes, and Medicare
| What to know | |
|---|---|
| Tax on benefits | For a married couple with more than $44,000 of what Social Security calls “combined income,” up to 85% of benefits are taxable |
| Medicare premiums | Set using your income from two years earlier, so large Roth conversions at 63 or older can raise them |
| Signing up for Medicare | Medicare starts at 65, whenever you claim Social Security. If you haven’t started Social Security by then, enrollment is not automatic, so sign up yourself to avoid a lifelong late penalty, unless you are covered by a current employer’s health plan |
Where this lands
Claiming early pays a smaller benefit for more years. Claiming later pays a larger one, and for a married couple it also sets what the survivor receives. Health, family history, and whether savings can cover the years of waiting all matter. For a couple with a gap between their benefits, the higher earner’s choice usually carries the most weight. The choice is hard to undo, so it is worth making on purpose rather than by default at 62.
- You can start Social Security in any month between ages 62 and 70, and the amount is largely set once it starts.
- Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming at 62 lowers the benefit by about 30%. Waiting to 70 raises it by about 24%.
- The increases for waiting stop at 70.
- From age 62, cost-of-living increases apply even before you start benefits.
- For a married couple, the higher earner’s claiming age sets what the survivor receives for life.
- A spousal benefit cannot start until the other spouse has started theirs, and it stops growing at full retirement age.
- The low-income years between retiring and claiming are a natural time for Roth conversions.
- If you haven’t started Social Security by 65, sign up for Medicare yourself.
We work out the claiming decision with the rest of the plan.
That includes the withdrawal plan and the tax years on either side of it.
Begin a conversation →Educational content only. This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute personalized investment, tax, or legal advice, and does not create an advisory relationship, and it does not recommend a claiming age. Social Security rules are summarized generally; benefit amounts, reductions, credits, earnings test thresholds, and eligibility depend on individual earnings records, birth year, marital history, and circumstances, and divorced, disabled, and dependent beneficiaries are subject to rules not covered here. Percentages shown describe how benefits are calculated under current law rather than any projection of a result. Rules and dollar figures change; confirm current figures with the Social Security Administration or at The Tax Numbers before acting. The survivor example uses hypothetical round numbers to show how the rules work and is not an estimate for any person. The firm and its related persons may or may not hold any security, fund, or asset class mentioned, and any such position may change at any time.
TenBroeck Wealth Management, LLC is an investment adviser registered with the State of California (DFPI). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The firm does not provide tax preparation or legal services; tax and estate strategies are developed in coordination with your CPA and attorney, who confirm and implement tax filings and legal documents. The firm is affiliated through common ownership with TenBroeck Insurance Services, a licensed insurance agency; the firm or its representatives may receive commissions on insurance products implemented for clients — compensation separate from advisory fees that creates a conflict of interest. Clients are under no obligation to purchase insurance through the affiliate. This and other material conflicts are described in the firm's Form ADV Part 2A, available upon request.
Written by Schad TenBroeck, CFP®. CFP Board owns the marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® in the United States.
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