Claiming as early as possible will give you the most checks, but you have to prepare yourself for drawbacks too.
You’re in your late 50s or early 60s, and you’re counting the days until you turn 62 so you can apply for Social Security benefits. It’s totally fair to want as many checks as possible after giving a significant chunk of your income to the program over the past several decades.
But applying at 62 may have some unintended consequences. That doesn’t mean it’s the wrong choice for everyone. However, you need to understand these four things about claiming them before you can decide whether it’s right for you.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. You have to be 62 for the entire month to be eligible
The Social Security Administration defines Social Security eligibility in an unintuitive way. You can’t claim benefits in the month you turn 62 unless you were born on the first or second of that month. Otherwise, you have to wait until the month after you turn 62.
You should also know that the Social Security Administration pays benefits in the month after they’re due, on either the second, third, or fourth Wednesday, depending on your birthdate. So if you turn 62 on Aug. 28, 2025, you wouldn’t become eligible for Social Security until September, and you wouldn’t get your first payment until Oct. 22, 2025.
This is important to keep in mind if you plan to quit your job around the time you start Social Security or if you have little personal savings. You’ll need another way to cover your costs until your Social Security benefits start coming in.
2. You could shrink your checks by up to 30%
The biggest drawback to claiming Social Security at 62 is that it’s technically considered claiming early, which means you’ll be subject to an early claiming benefit reduction. The exact amount depends on your age at sign-up and your full retirement age (FRA).
The government assigns everyone an FRA based on their birth year. If you were born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67. You lose five-ninths of 1% per month for the first 36 months of early claiming, and five-twelfths of 1% per month thereafter. That means those who claim in the month they turn 62 will shrink their checks by 30%. That’s enough to drop the average $2,005 monthly benefit as of June 2025 to $1,404 per month.
For many, it also leads to a smaller lifetime benefit. However, this may not be the case if you have a short life expectancy. Claiming early could be your best move then. You may also have no choice but to sign up early if you don’t have another way of covering your expenses while you delay Social Security.
3. You could reduce your family members’ survivor benefits
You claiming Social Security early will not affect your partner’s spousal benefit, if you’re married. This is the benefit they’re entitled to claim on your work record if it’s worth more than their own retirement benefit.
But the same can’t be said of their survivor benefit, which is the benefit they’re entitled to after you pass away. If you sign up early, you permanently shrink the checks that your spouse and any dependent children are eligible to receive after you die. For this reason, you may decide not to claim Social Security at all if you believe your family will be heavily dependent on your checks.
4. You could lose money to the earnings test
While you’re claiming checks under your FRA, you could lose money to the Social Security earnings test. This withholds money from your benefits if your income from your job exceeds certain limits. Specifically, you lose $1 for every $2 you earn over $23,400 if you’ll be under your FRA all year. If you’ll reach your FRA in 2025, you only lose $1 for every $3 you earn over $62,160. These limits typically increase annually.
The Social Security Administration recalculates your benefit when you reach your FRA and will give you larger checks to make up for what it withheld before because of the earnings test. But that might be little comfort during the years when your benefits could shrink abruptly.
If you think you could run into the earnings test, it’s important to plan for it in advance. Rely upon your income from your job and your personal savings to make up for the smaller benefit checks. Once you reach your FRA, you won’t have to worry about this anymore, no matter how much you earn from your job.
If you have any questions about these rules or how they apply to your situation, it’s best to contact the Social Security Administration directly for personalized advice. You could try reaching out by phone or schedule an appointment at your local Social Security office.
