When to claim Social Security
Nine claiming ages, the permanent difference each one makes to the benefit and where the break-even actually falls once future money is discounted rather than counted at face value.
The shape of it
- Claiming at 62 pays 70.0% of your full benefit. Claiming at 70 pays 124.0%.
- On a $2,000 full benefit that is a $12,960 a year difference, for life, from a single decision.
- The reduction and the credit are both permanent. Neither reverses at full retirement age, which is the most common misunderstanding.
- Every break-even below is shown twice: on total dollars, and with each year discounted at 3% real. The second is later, often by years.
| Claim at | Of full | Per month | Per year | By 90 | Break-even | Discounted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70.0% | $1,400 | $16,800 | $470K | 79 | 83 |
| 63 | 75.0% | $1,500 | $18,000 | $486K | 79 | 83 |
| 64 | 80.0% | $1,600 | $19,200 | $499K | 79 | 83 |
| 65 | 86.7% | $1,733 | $20,796 | $520K | 80 | 85 |
| 66 | 93.3% | $1,867 | $22,404 | $538K | 82 | 86 |
| 67 full | 100.0% | $2,000 | $24,000 | $552K | baseline | baseline |
| 68 | 108.0% | $2,160 | $25,920 | $570K | 81 | 84 |
| 69 | 116.0% | $2,320 | $27,840 | $585K | 82 | 86 |
| 70 | 124.0% | $2,480 | $29,760 | $595K | 83 | 87 |
On a $2,000 a month full benefit, in today's dollars, for a full retirement age of 67. Break-even columns compare each age against claiming at 67. Every age page rescales the whole table to your own benefit.
What decides it
Longevity is the real input
Every break-even is a bet on how long you live, and that is the one number nobody has. A crossover at 82 is a good deal if your parents reached 95 and a poor one if you are managing a serious condition. Health and family history should carry more weight here than the arithmetic does.
Married is two decisions
When one spouse dies the survivor keeps the larger of the two benefits. Delaying the higher earner's claim therefore buys protection across both lifetimes, which changes the calculation entirely. The lower earner's claim stays close to a straight break-even.
Claiming and retiring are separate
You can stop working at 62 and still claim at 70, funding the gap from the portfolio. That costs real money in the bridge years and buys a larger inflation-adjusted benefit for life, which is the closest thing to longevity insurance most people can buy.
Put the claim into a whole plan
The claiming decision only makes sense against the portfolio funding the years around it. Run both together against 95 years of market history and see which combination holds up.
Run your plan free60 seconds, no signup required
Related: How benefits are calculated, Spending levels, State taxes on benefits, Taxes in retirement.