You’ve thought about claiming Social Security at 62, but you’ve heard about the early claiming penalty that can shrink your checks by up to 30% if you do. While this is an important factor to weigh, it doesn’t mean claiming early is always the wrong choice.
If you’re in poor health, you don’t have a lot of personal savings, or you’ve earned a lot less than your spouse, applying at 62 could be your best option. But even in these situations, that’s not guaranteed. You have to understand how your benefit calculation works and make educated guesses about your health and finances to gauge whether you should sign up at 62.
Here are some key considerations for each of the three scenarios mentioned above to help you decide.
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Lack of personal savings
Every month that you delay Social Security increases your benefit until you turn 70, but delaying also means you have to cover your living expenses on your own for longer. This may not be an issue if you’re still working or have a large nest egg. But those with little personal savings may find it challenging to wait even if they want to.
In this case, applying at 62 is better than taking on costly debt. You may receive a smaller lifetime benefit, but the trade is worthwhile if it can keep you financially secure. However, it’s not always an either-or situation.
You can claim at any point between 62 and 70, and every month you wait increases your checks. Signing up at 62 and one month will increase your benefit by 5/12 of 1%. That’s enough to raise the $2,002 average monthly benefit as of May 2025 by about $8 per month. If you were to apply at 62 1/2, you could get an extra $50 per month if you qualified for the $2,002 average check at 62.
So you have options. Even if you can’t afford to put off Social Security for years, you might consider waiting a couple of months so you can lock in larger checks for the rest of your life.
Poor health
Poor health is another sound reason for claiming Social Security early. Waiting to sign up increases the risk that you could die before you receive any money from the program. This risk exists for everyone, regardless of health status, but it’s a more serious concern for those who are chronically or terminally ill.
Signing up at 62 lets you receive as much money as you can from the program while you’re still alive. This is likely your best choice if you’re single with no dependents.
But if you’re married or have dependent children who will be heavily dependent on Social Security survivors benefits after you pass away, you may prefer not to claim Social Security until much later or possibly not at all. When you claim early, you’re not just reducing your own checks. You’re also reducing the survivors benefits your family will get later. Giving them the most money possible might mean forgoing benefits yourself.
Lower-earning spouse
Married couples often do best when they coordinate their Social Security claiming strategy. When both have similar earnings histories, they’ll probably each wind up with their own retirement benefit rather than a spousal benefit. But this isn’t always the case when there’s a large income disparity.
If your own retirement benefit is less than your spousal benefit, which is worth up to one-half of the retirement benefit your partner qualifies for at their full retirement age (FRA), you’ll get the spousal benefit instead. But you can only claim a spousal benefit if your partner is already on Social Security.
When one person has significantly out-earned the other, it sometimes makes sense for the lower earner to claim Social Security at 62 so their benefits can cover some household expenses while the higher earner delays their claim. But whether this is right for you depends on each person’s health and your financial situation.
It’s worth exploring all your options before you settle on any claiming age. You can estimate your benefits at every age through your my Social Security account. Use this as your guide in choosing a tentative claiming age. But stay open to adjusting it if your circumstances change.
