One of the biggest decisions you'll make in retirement is when to claim Social Security benefits.
Most people can claim their retirement benefits starting in the month they turn 62 years old. Claiming early gives you access to that additional income upfront, but it comes at a significant cost. You'll receive a reduce payout compared to if you waited until full retirement age.
For many readers (those born in 1960 or later), full retirement age will be 67. For them, waiting to claim Social Security benefits until 67 can provide a monthly benefits check that's 43% higher than claiming your benefit at 62.
While 62 is the most popular age to claim Social Security retirement benefits, the next-most popular time to claim is full retirement age. Understanding all the factors that go into calculating your Social Security benefit can help you decide whether the positives of waiting to claim until age 67 -- including the average monthly benefit at age 67 -- outweigh the negatives.
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How the government calculates your Social Security benefit
There are three main factors that determine how much you'll receive in Social Security every month:
- Earnings history.
- Full retirement age.
- Claiming age.
For your earnings history, the Social Security Administration looks at every year you earned wages subject to Social Security taxes. It adjusts every year for inflation and averages your 35 highest-earning years. If you didn't work 35 years, the SSA will add in zeroes for those missing years, bringing down your average.
That average is then plugged into the Social Security benefits formula to determine your primary insurance amount. The primary insurance amount is what you'll receive if you claim Social Security in the month you reach full retirement age. That's 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Those born in 1954 or earlier reached full retirement age at 66, and those born between 1955 and 1959 have a full retirement age between 66 and 67.
As mentioned, though, you can claim your benefit starting at age 62, well before you reach full retirement age. But if you claim early, you'll only receive a fraction of your primary insurance amount. On the other hand, delaying Social Security past full retirement age will earn you delayed retirement credits. You'll receive an 8% bonus on your primary insurance amount for each year you delay beyond your full retirement age up until reaching age 70.
The table below illustrates the impact of claiming age on someone with a full retirement age of 67.
| Claiming Age | Percentage of Primary Insurance Amount |
|---|---|
| 62 | 70% |
| 63 | 75% |
| 64 | 80% |
| 65 | 86.7% |
| 66 | 93.% |
| 67 | 100% |
| 68 | 108% |
| 69 | 116% |
| 70+ | 124% |
Data source: Social Security Administration
Those with full retirement ages less than 67 will receive more than their primary insurance amount if they wait. And their maximum benefit at age 70 could be as much as 132% of their primary insurance amount.
What's the average Social Security benefit at age 67?
Only about 14% of retirees claimed Social Security at their full retirement age in 2022. But those that did were rewarded with higher payouts, as the table would suggest.
The average 67-year-old Social Security beneficiary received $1,844.83 per month from the program in 2022. That works out to about $22,138 per year. And it's a nice bump from the average monthly benefit for retirees who turned 62 last year, which came to $1,274.87.
That number includes anyone that claimed benefits at 67 as well as those that claimed earlier. The real bump came to those that waited.
The average new award for someone age 67 in 2022 was $2,399.86 per month, or about $28,798 per year. (That includes new claims for those age 67 as well as those that become newly eligible for a different Social Security benefit like spousal or survivor benefits.) The number is a huge bump from the average Social Security award for those age 62, which came to just $1,287.61 per month in 2022. That's an 86% jump!
That said, people can expect to increase their benefit by only about 43% by waiting until full retirement age rather than claiming at age 62. There are a few other factors that impact the average benefit for those claiming at age 62, including the Social Security earnings test. Furthermore, several factors that would lead an individual to claim benefits as soon as possible overlap with factors that might lead to a lower average monthly benefit (such as lower incomes leading to less retirement savings).
Is 67 the best age to claim Social Security?
Age 67 serves as a milestone for many future retirees, as it represents their full retirement age. It's the point where you'll receive every penny you're due from Social Security.
But you may be missing out if you claim at age 67.
The best age for most people to claim Social Security is age 70, according to a study conducted in 2019. That's backed up by recent life-expectancy data from the CDC, which shows a retiree will probably maximize lifetime benefits because of living well into his or her 80s on average. Additionally, waiting until age 70 ensures the maximum survivor benefit for your spouse, if he or she plans to collect on your record in the future.
Age 67 came in a distant second in that study. There are plenty of good reasons to claim at 67 instead of 70, but most people will be better off waiting.
