“Should I take social security at 62 or 70?”
“What happens if I take social security while working?”
“Does waiting increase spousal benefit?”
“Do i lose money if I claim early then stop?”
All questions good financial plans answer; but, many people have trouble getting started. The first step in playing the course is selecting the right tee box.
The three tee boxes (what you actually get)
- 62 (earliest): Your monthly check is reduced permanently. For those with full retirement age (FRA) 67 (born 1960+), claiming at 62 pays ~70% of your FRA amount. That reduction is applied monthly using SSA’s formula (5/9 of 1% for the first 36 months early, 5/12 of 1% for additional months). Social Security
- 67 (FRA): You get 100% of your “primary insurance amount” (PIA). Social Security
- 70 (latest): You earn delayed retirement credits—about +8% per year after FRA—up to age 70. If FRA is 67, starting at 70 pays ~124% of your FRA amount. Benefits don’t grow past 70. Social Security
Example: If your FRA (age 67) benefit is $3,000:
- At 62 ≈ $2,100 (~70%).
- At 67 = $3,000 (100%).
- At 70 ≈ $3,720 (~124%). Social Security
“But I’m still working—does that change things?”
If you claim before FRA and you earn above the annual earnings-test limit, Social Security may withhold benefits for now and recalculate your payment higher at FRA; those withheld dollars aren’t lost. Once you hit FRA, there’s no earnings test.
The real math: breakeven and risk
Think of 62 vs. 70 like choosing driver vs. 5-iron. Driver gets money on the scorecard sooner; 5-iron (waiting) aims for a higher lifetime total.
- Breakeven math (illustrative): Using the example above, you’ll collect more, per month, if you wait. The tradeoff is the eight years of smaller checks you pass up from 62–70. Typical breakeven for 62 vs. 70 lands in the late 70s to around 80, depending on COLAs, taxes, investment returns, and whether you keep working. (Exact age is specific to your numbers; we run this precisely for clients.)
- Longevity risk: If you live into your 80s and 90s, the higher lifetime benefit from delaying is powerful insurance against outliving savings.
- Sequence-of-returns risk: Waiting can reduce the need to sell investments in a down market because your eventual check is bigger.
- Inflation: COLAs apply to whatever you lock in. A bigger base (by delaying) means bigger dollar COLAs over time.
Spousal and survivor stakes (don’t ignore this)
- Spousal benefits can be up to 50% of the worker’s FRA benefit (reduced if claimed early). Delaying the worker’s own benefit doesn’t increase the spouse’s spousal benefit beyond that 50% cap. Social Security
- Survivor benefits are different: if the higher-earning spouse delays and locks in a larger benefit, the surviving spouse can later receive up to 100% of that higher amount at survivor FRA. In plain English: delaying by the higher earner can materially boost what the widow(er) keeps for life. Social Security
Taxes and cash-flow (the part nobody loves, but matters)
- Benefits can be taxable depending on your other income; coordinating IRA withdrawals, Roth conversions, and the start of Social Security can lower lifetime taxes. (Strategy, not slogans.)
- If you claim before FRA while working and cross the earnings-test limit, expect withholdings and later recalculation upward at FRA; plan cash flow accordingly. Social Security
“Should I take social security at 62 or 70? “
Here’s quick decision framework (Moorpark & Simi Valley edition). Use this as a common-sense yardage book—then we run the exact numbers with your data.
Lean toward 70 if most of these are true:
- You’re in good health with a long-lived family history.
- You have ample savings or wages to cover spending until 70.
- You’re the higher earner in the household (bigger survivor benefit later).
- You prefer longevity insurance (bigger inflation-adjusted check for life).
Lean toward 67 (FRA) if:
- You want to keep working without the earnings test.
- Cash flow is fine after 67 but tight before then.
- You’re indifferent on breakeven but want simplicity and flexibility.
Consider 62 if:
- Health suggests a shorter life expectancy.
- You need cash flow now and other options are costly or unwise.
- Your spouse is the higher earner and will delay, protecting the survivor benefit.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- “Claim early, invest the difference” without accounting for volatility, taxes, and behavior—nice on a whiteboard, messy in real life. These “strategies” seldom work.
- Ignoring survivors. If you’re the higher earner, delaying often protects your spouse’s lifetime income.
- Earnings test surprises. If you claim before FRA and keep working, plan for withholdings and a later adjustment. It’s not a penalty, but it will affect cash flow.
- Waiting past 70. There’s no increase after 70. Don’t leave money in the clubhouse.
Bottom line
“Should I take social security at 62 or 70?”
If you have the health, savings, and patience, age 70 generally produces the highest lifetime and survivor value. If you need the income or your health argues otherwise, 62 or 67 can be perfectly rational. The best choice is the one that wins on after-tax, after-risk, family-aware dollars.
Here’s a special offer for residents of Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks.
What’s YOUR break-even age between 62 and 70? Want your breakeven, survivor, and after-tax comparison in writing? I’ll prepare a personalized report for you with your exact figures including an analysis.
If you’re in 93021, 93065, 93063, or 91360, Want some answers? Want to kick the tires?
I’ll run your personalized Social Security timing PDF analysis using a calculator that even computes COLAs and their impact – something even SSA doesn’t provide.
- Will run through all possible claiming scenarios, whether you’re single, divorced, married, widowed – even for families with minor or disabled adult children
- Shows detailed breakdown of lifetime benefits under virtually any scenario.
- Incorporates cost-of-living adjustments – again, the SSA doesn’t provide this – they’re helpful (and overworked), but they’re not in the business of either providing predictions or financial planning.
- Shows first-year survivor income
- Is updated for the Social Security Fairness Act signed into law January 5, 2025
Report shows the benefit estimate based on the age when you claim Social Security. Each scenario shows both the benefit stream and cumulative benefits over your life expectancy.
All that’s needed is each spouse’s birthdate and primary insurance amount. The PIA can be obtained by opening an account at ssa.gov/myaccount. I think you’ll find the site quite helpful. You can contact the SSA for your statement, but phone waits can be long.
IFG doesn’t sell investments – so there’s no selling; just help. Let me know if I can help you.
Jim
Some additional information on what’s new with Social Security can be found on the IFG website.
