Turning 62 is a big milestone. For many, it marks the end of a decades-long career. It also signals eligibility for Social Security benefits, a primary source of income for a lot of retirees.
Claiming Social Security benefits is a big decision, and it's difficult to undo. If you're considering applying for benefits in 2025, here are a few things you need to know.
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1. You can't claim benefits until you've been 62 for the entire month
It's possible to apply for Social Security benefits up to four months before you plan to claim, but most people aren't eligible in the month they turn 62. A rule says you must be 62 for the entire month before you qualify for checks.
If you were born on the 1st or the 2nd of a month, your birth month will be your first month of eligibility. But if you were born on any other day, you can't claim Social Security until the month after your birth month.
Keep in mind that the Social Security Administration also pays benefits in the month after they're due. For example, if you turn 62 on March 21, 2025, you won't be eligible for benefits until April 2025, and you'll get your first check in May 2025.
Plus, the day of the month you get your checks depends on the day of the month you were born as follows:
- Born on the 1st to the 10th: Second Wednesday of the month
- Born on the 11th to the 20th: Third Wednesday of the month
- Born on the 21st to the 31st: Fourth Wednesday of the month
So in our example, you might turn 62 on March 21, 2025, but you won't actually receive your first check until May 28, 2025. You'll need other income sources to cover your expenses until then.
2. Claiming at 62 could permanently reduce your benefit
Claiming Social Security at any point under your full retirement age (FRA) reduces your monthly checks. Your FRA depends on your birth year, but it will be somewhere between 66 and 67.
You lose five-ninths of 1% per month for your first 36 months of early claiming. If you apply even earlier, you lose another five-twelfths of 1% per month. That means those who apply immediately at 62 reduce their monthly checks by 25% if their FRA is 66, or 30% if their FRA is 67. That's enough to drop the $1,967 average monthly benefit in 2025 to as low as $1,377 per month.
This doesn't mean claiming early is always the wrong choice. It might be your best move if you have a short life expectancy or don't have enough other income to make ends meet. But if neither of these issues apply to you, delaying Social Security will likely lead to a larger lifetime benefit.
And you don't have to stop at your FRA, either. You can continue to grow your checks past your FRA by two-thirds of 1% per month until you qualify for your maximum benefit at 70.
3. You could reduce the survivors benefits available to your family members
Social Security survivors benefits are available to your spouse and dependents after you pass away. If you weren't already claiming Social Security, they're based on the relationship of the family member and your primary insurance amount (PIA) -- the benefit you're entitled to at your FRA. But if you were actively claiming benefits, your family's survivors benefits are based on the amount you received instead.
If you claim early, you're not only reducing the size of your own monthly checks, but you're also shrinking the amount your family will get after you pass away. For this reason, you may prefer to hold off on claiming Social Security if you don't need the money right away.
Note that the rules for survivors benefits differ from those of spousal benefits. With spousal benefits, the spouse's maximum benefit is always one-half of the worker's PIA, regardless of when the worker applies for Social Security. However, the spouse can't claim a spousal benefit until the worker has signed up. Also, if the spouse claims benefits under their own FRA, they could reduce their own checks.
If you have any questions about your Social Security benefits, it's smart to clarify these with online research or by reaching out to the Social Security Administration before you apply. It's possible to undo your Social Security claim within the first 12 months if you change your mind. But you'd have to pay back all the benefits you'd already received. This is tough for most people to do, so it's best to wait to sign up until you're confident you're ready.
