At what age should I start receiving my Social Security retirement benefits? (2024)

FAQs

At what age should I start receiving my Social Security retirement benefits? ›

If you wait until your full retirement age (67 for people who are born in 1960 or later), you will get your full benefit. You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefit as early as age 62.

Full retirement age

If you were born in 1957 or earlier, you're already eligible for your full Social Security benefit. The full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954. The full retirement age increases gradually if you were born from 1955 to 1960 until it reaches 67.

You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, you are entitled to full benefits when you reach your full retirement age. If you delay taking your benefits from your full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit amount will increase.

1. You're Planning Your End-of-Life Care. Your Social Security benefits stop paying at your death, so if you die before collecting benefits, you'll have missed out on benefits entirely.

If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67 (En español) You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount you receive will be less than your full retirement benefit amount.

According to recently released data from the SSA's Office of the Actuary, just over 590,000 retired-worker beneficiaries were receiving $1,298.26 per month at age 62, as of December 2023. That compares to about 2.11 million aged 66 retired-worker beneficiaries who were taking home $1,739.92 per month.

Many senior adults struggle with conditions like heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Retiring in your early 60s will allow you to focus more on your health and lower your risk of developing these conditions. Retiring at the early age of 62 is also beneficial to those who already have serious health concerns.

As we have discussed, you are eligible to start claiming your benefit when you turn 62. But the benefit you receive at 62 will be permanently lower than if you wait. Every month past age 62 you don't claim your benefit entitles you to a slightly larger payout when you do start collecting your benefit.

Have you heard about the Social Security $16,728 yearly bonus? There's really no “bonus” that retirees can collect. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a specific formula based on your lifetime earnings to determine your benefit amount.

The Social Security five-year rule is the time period in which you can file for an expedited reinstatement after your Social Security disability benefits have been terminated completely due to work.

Is it better to collect Social Security at 62 or 67? ›

The earliest age at which most people can take Social Security retirement benefits is typically 62, but those payments are normally reduced because people usually aren't entitled to 100% of their benefits until 67. People who wait until 70 to retire can receive 124% of their benefits.

The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $3,822. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $2,710. If you retire at age 70 in 2024, your maximum benefit would be $4,873.

Turning 62 is a big milestone for Americans. For many, it marks the end of a long career and possibly the beginning of monthly Social Security checks showing up in their bank accounts.

You may request that your benefit begin in August with the first payment in September. By requesting that your benefit begin in your birthday month, you will receive the maximum possible monthly payment for the rest of your life.

You can get Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time. However, if you are younger than full retirement age and make more than the yearly earnings limit, we will reduce your benefits. Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, we will not reduce your benefits no matter how much you earn.

The progressive changes are nearing their conclusion: Beginning in 2022, the standard age for full benefits became 67 for anyone born after 1960. Besides the Medicare eligibility age of 65, what remains unchanged is that you can opt to begin drawing partial Social Security benefits as early as age 62.

The Social Security five-year rule is the time period in which you can file for an expedited reinstatement after your Social Security disability benefits have been terminated completely due to work.

Social Security offers a monthly benefit check to many kinds of recipients. As of December 2023, the average check is $1,767.03, according to the Social Security Administration – but that amount can differ drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically make more than the overall average.

The general rule is that Social Security benefits replace about 40% of pre-retirement income. With $30,000 in annual income, that means you could receive an estimated $12,000 per year in Social Security payments, without adjusting for inflation.