I Want to do Everything Right When I Claim Social Security
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Dear Rusty: I will be 62 in two years. I plan on signing up for SS at age 62, but I have heard there are details that are important when signing up. When it comes time, I want to make sure I do everything right. Can you help me understand? Signed: Claiming Soon
Rusty’s answer in brief
Claiming at 62 pays only 70% of the full-retirement-age benefit, and that cut is permanent; afterward the benefit rises only with cost-of-living adjustments. If you keep working before 67, the earnings test ($24,480 in 2026) withholds $1 for every $2 over the limit. A married person’s claiming age also sets the survivor benefit their spouse would receive.
Each year of waiting raises the benefit, by about 6% a year up to full retirement age and 8% a year after it; at 70 it is about 75% more than at 62. A “my Social Security” account shows your estimates at each age, and the Foundation’s advisors can help when you are ready to apply.
This recording presents the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. To request additional information, contact our Advisory Staff at 888-750-2622, or email us at SSAdvisor@AmacFoundation.org.