Should You Claim Social Security at 62? 10 Big Decisions You Need to Weigh

You become eligible for Social Security at 62, and a lot of people choose to sign up right away. But not everyone realizes that your claiming age affects the size of your checks for the rest of your retirement.

It's tough to undo your decision once you've made it, so you need to weigh all your options before you sign up. Here's a look at 10 of the key factors to consider when choosing a Social Security claiming age.

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Your life expectancy helps determine how much you'll get from Social Security overall. Signing up at 62 means more years of checks, but each check you get will be smaller. Every month you delay benefits boosts your check a little until you reach your maximum benefit at 70.

Those who expect to live into their 80s or beyond will probably get the most money overall by delaying Social Security. On the other hand, those with shorter life expectancies are better off claiming right away at 62. If they try to delay, they could die before they see a dime from Social Security.

Your birth year determines your full retirement age (FRA). That's when you become eligible for your full Social Security benefit based on your work history. It's somewhere between 66 and 67 for today's workers.

You'll only get 70% of your full benefit per check if you sign up at 62 and your FRA is 67. Those with an FRA of 66 get 75% of their full benefit per check when they sign up right away. And those who delay benefits until 70 will get either 132% or 124% of their full benefit per check, depending on whether their FRA is 66 or 67, respectively.

ALSO READ: Full Retirement Age for Getting Social Security

Some people might prefer to delay Social Security but be unable to do so because they need it to help them with their monthly expenses. In this case, it's best to sign up for Social Security early, even if it means getting a smaller lifetime benefit. The alternative is falling behind on your bills, and larger Social Security checks in the future aren't going to fix this.

Your Social Security benefit is based on your average monthly income over your 35 highest-earning years. Those who haven't worked this long will have one or more zero-income years included in their benefit calculation. This can significantly reduce how much you get per check. Whenever possible, try to work at least 35 years before claiming so you can avoid this hit to your benefits.

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Working while claiming Social Security can also reduce your checks if you're under your FRA. In 2022, you lose $1 from your Social Security checks for every $2 you earn over $19,560 if you'll be under your FRA for the whole year. Those reaching their FRA this year only lose $1 for every $3 they earn over $51,960 if they earn this before their birthday.

Any money withheld due to this earnings test comes back to you when you reach your FRA. The government recalculates your benefit to include these funds, which means your future checks will be larger.

ALSO READ: Can I Work While Claiming Social Security?

Older workers might be able to lock in larger Social Security benefits by delaying their application until after they quit the workforce. This will allow them to accumulate delayed retirement credits that grow their checks over time. It might also boost their average monthly income that their Social Security benefit is based on.

That's because most people earn more later in their careers than they did starting out. Once you pass the 35-year mark, these more recent, higher-earning years start replacing your early, lower-earning years in your benefit calculation, leading to larger checks.

Married couples must think about how claiming Social Security at 62 will affect their partner's benefit, as well as their own. When only one person has worked long enough to qualify for Social Security, their partner can claim a spousal benefit worth up to 50% of the worker's benefit at their FRA. But the spouse can't claim that spousal benefit until the worker signs up.

Sometimes, if both people have worked long enough to qualify for Social Security, it makes sense for the lower-earning spouse to sign up right away at 62. This will give the couple some income they can use to support themselves while the higher earner delays benefits. Then, when the higher earner signs up later, the Social Security Administration will automatically switch the lower earner over to a spousal benefit if it's worth more than what they're already receiving.

ALSO READ: Collecting Social Security Spousal Benefits

Though rare, other household members may also qualify for Social Security benefits on a worker's record. This includes minor and disabled children of a qualifying worker. But just like with spousal benefits, these other family members can't claim anything from Social Security until the worker signs up for the program. If there are several household members that qualify for benefits, it may be wise for the worker to sign up at 62 rather than delaying.

Those working or withdrawing large sums from their retirement accounts are at a greater risk of owing taxes on their Social Security benefits. While it's not always possible to avoid these, delaying benefits until you're no longer working might help. So can sticking to Roth retirement account withdrawals, if you have one of these, once you near the top of your tax bracket.

ALSO READ: You'll Never Guess How Much Retirees Pay in Taxes on Social Security Benefits

Signing up for Social Security at 62 might be the best decision for you, but that doesn't mean you have to sign up right on your birthday. You could delay benefits for a few months in order to lock in larger checks before signing up. Or you could sign up as soon as four months before your 62nd birthday. If you choose the latter, you won't actually receive any benefits until the month you turn 62.

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It's a good idea to have a Social Security plan even if you're not eligible to claim yet. This can help you figure out how much you need to save for retirement on your own. But it's also OK to change your claiming strategy over time. If your finances or health change, go back to the drawing board and weigh the factors discussed above again to see if there's a better time for you to sign up.

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