Should You Take Social Security at 62, 67, or 70?
Social Security • Retirement income planning
The short answer
There is no single best age to claim Social Security. Starting at 62 provides income sooner at a reduced monthly amount. Claiming at full retirement age avoids the early-claiming reduction. Waiting until 70 increases your own monthly retirement benefit, but you need a way to fund the years before it starts. Compare health, household income, savings, work plans, taxes, and a spouse’s needs before deciding.
“Should I take Social Security now or wait?” is often really two questions: How much monthly income will I receive, and what will I live on in the meantime?
For a household retiring in Myrtle Beach, Charleston, or elsewhere in South Carolina, those questions belong in the same plan. Your claiming age should work with your spending, investments, and family priorities. Our retirement planning services connect those decisions.
How much Social Security could you receive at 62, 67, or 70?
For people born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is generally 67. The comparison below uses an assumed $3,000 monthly benefit at full retirement age . Your actual estimate depends on your earnings record and filing date. Other birth years can have different full retirement ages and percentages.
| Claiming age | Share of full benefit | Monthly example | Annual example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70% | $2,100 | $25,200 |
| 67 | 100% | $3,000 | $36,000 |
| 70 | 124% | $3,720 | $44,640 |
Illustration only, before taxes and Medicare deductions. Uses SSA’s age-based percentages for a worker with full retirement age 67 and a fixed assumed benefit; excludes cost-of-living adjustments, earnings changes, and special circumstances. January 1 birthdays can follow the prior birth-year rule. These are not estimates for a particular person.
Check the Social Security Administration’s early and delayed retirement comparison and your own SSA benefit estimates. You can claim between these ages; 62, 67, and 70 are useful comparison points, not your only choices.
When might claiming earlier or waiting make sense?
Claiming at 62: income sooner, a smaller monthly benefit
Earlier benefits may deserve consideration when income is needed for essential spending, work has ended unexpectedly, or health and family circumstances make earlier payments more valuable. The tradeoff is a lower monthly starting amount than waiting.
Ask whether claiming solves a lasting income need or a temporary cash shortfall. Compare the alternatives before assuming that either drawing savings or starting benefits is automatically better.
Claiming at full retirement age: one useful midpoint
Full retirement age avoids the reduction for starting early. It can be a practical comparison point for a household that needs income then but does not want to claim at 62. It is not automatically the best age for everyone.
If you are still working before full retirement age, the earnings test can temporarily withhold benefits when earnings exceed the applicable limit. At full retirement age, SSA adjusts benefits to account for months withheld under that test. Read our guide to working while collecting Social Security before combining the two.
Waiting until 70: a larger monthly benefit, with a bridge to fund
Delaying may fit a household that can support its spending while waiting and values more income later in life. Health, longevity, and the effect on a surviving spouse deserve attention.
Your own retirement benefit stops earning delayed retirement credits at 70. Those credits are a benefit calculation, not an investment return on your portfolio. Waiting should be assessed alongside what it requires from your savings.
Can you retire before you claim Social Security?
Yes. Stopping work and claiming Social Security are separate decisions. You can retire and use other resources before starting benefits. However, stopping work can change estimates that assume continued earnings. SSA bases benefits on your highest 35 years of earnings, so review the assumptions in your estimate.
A bridge plan identifies how you will pay expenses until benefits start. It should specify available cash, account withdrawals, taxes, reserves, and what you would do if markets or expenses differ from expectations.
Our guide to which retirement accounts to withdraw from first explains why the account used for the bridge matters. For someone approaching the transition, our getting ready to retire planning starts with those practical decisions.
A hypothetical Myrtle Beach household
A fictional couple retires when the higher earner is 67. Their annual spending is $72,000, and the other spouse already receives $18,000 a year in Social Security. The higher earner’s assumed benefit is the $3,000-at-67 example above.
- Claim at 67: total Social Security is $54,000 a year. The starting spending gap is $18,000 a year, or $1,500 a month.
- Wait until 70: the starting gap during the bridge is $54,000 a year, or $4,500 a month. Once the assumed $44,640 benefit starts, total Social Security is $62,640, leaving a $9,360 annual gap, or $780 a month.
Waiting shifts more of the initial burden to savings in exchange for a larger later benefit. The household needs to test whether that tradeoff fits its assets, taxes, reserves, and risk tolerance.
Hypothetical illustration, not an actual client or recommended strategy. Amounts exclude additional taxes, Medicare deductions, inflation, investment returns, and benefit adjustments. Expenses and the other spouse’s benefit are held constant solely to show the cash-flow difference.
Where does the Three-Bucket Strategy fit?
A bucket approach organizes assets by when they may be needed. Near-term resources can support a planned bridge; other assets serve later needs and longer-term growth. The details depend on your portfolio and risk tolerance.
A bucket label does not remove investment risk or guarantee that delaying is affordable. A useful plan also explains how reserves will be replenished and how withdrawals will be reviewed during a market decline.
What is the Social Security break-even age?
A break-even age is the point at which the cumulative benefits from one claiming choice catch up with another under the assumptions used. It is a comparison tool, not a prediction of how long you will live.
Using only the fixed monthly amounts above, the arithmetic looks like this:
| Choices compared | Approximate cumulative break-even age |
|---|---|
| 62 versus 67 | 78 years, 8 months |
| 62 versus 70 | 80 years, 4 months |
| 67 versus 70 | 82 years, 6 months |
Simplified arithmetic only, rounded to the nearest month. Assumes benefits begin at the stated exact ages and remain fixed. Excludes taxes, COLAs, time value of money, investment outcomes, payment timing, and spouse or survivor benefits. It is not a personalized lifetime-benefit projection.
For example, waiting from 67 to 70 forgoes $108,000 in this illustration: 36 months × $3,000. The later benefit is $720 more a month. Dividing $108,000 by $720 gives 150 months after age 70, or age 82½.
The household decision is bigger than one break-even number
Consider who needs income now, how the bridge affects investments, and what income might remain for a surviving spouse. A strategy that looks attractive on a cumulative-benefit chart may still be difficult to fund in the early years.
How does your claiming age affect a spouse?
Married couples should compare benefits together. Delayed retirement credits can increase the retirement benefit used to determine an eligible surviving spouse’s benefit. This can make the higher earner’s timing especially relevant, although the survivor’s own claiming age and circumstances matter.
Spousal benefits while both spouses are living follow different rules. The maximum spousal benefit is generally based on 50% of the worker’s full-retirement-age benefit, not the larger amount created by delayed credits. Do not assume a spouse receives half of your age-70 check.
Divorce, widowhood, prior claims, and eligibility for benefits on more than one record can require separate analysis. Confirm your available benefits with SSA before applying. Sources: SSA’s explanation of spousal benefits and survivor benefit guidance.
Does delaying Social Security mean delaying Medicare?
No. Medicare enrollment and Social Security claiming require separate decisions. If you wait to collect Social Security, you may need to actively enroll in Medicare. Review eligibility and deadlines before 65. Coverage from current employment can affect the rules; do not assume retiree coverage, Marketplace insurance, or COBRA provides the same enrollment protections.
Our partner company, Coast Financial Group, helps with Medicare and Marketplace health insurance . Our Medicare and insurance services can help coordinate the coverage conversation with retirement planning. Official Medicare enrollment guidance should be checked for your situation.
Does South Carolina tax Social Security?
South Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits included in federal taxable income. Federal income tax can still apply: depending on income and filing status, up to 85% of benefits may be included in taxable income. That does not mean an 85% tax rate.
For retirees in the Grand Strand, Charleston, and elsewhere in South Carolina, compare the after-tax household result. IRA distributions, investment income, and other income can affect the calculation. Read our South Carolina retirement tax overview and coordinate decisions with your tax professional.
Five questions to answer before choosing your claiming age
- What are my current SSA estimates? Verify the earnings record and assumptions about future work.
- How will we fund spending before benefits start? Name the accounts, withdrawal amounts, and reserves.
- What happens if markets fall or costs rise? Review the bridge under less favorable conditions.
- How do health and family needs affect the decision? Consider both spouses and possible survivor income.
- What is the after-tax and healthcare picture? Coordinate taxes, Medicare timing, and other coverage.
Bring your SSA estimates, account statements, and a spending outline to the planning conversation. The useful comparison is how each claiming option works within your full retirement plan.
Frequently asked questions
Is it always better to wait until 70 for Social Security?
No. Waiting increases your own monthly retirement benefit, but requires resources before it starts. Income needs, health, spouse considerations, and the effect on savings can support a different choice.
Does claiming at 62 permanently reduce my benefit?
Starting early generally creates an ongoing reduction relative to your full-retirement-age amount. COLAs and other adjustments can still change your payment. If benefits are withheld because of work earnings, SSA later adjusts for those withheld months.
Can I stop working at 62 and claim Social Security at 70?
Yes, if you can fund the intervening years. Review your benefit estimate using the actual expected work-stop date, and build an income and health coverage plan for the gap.
Does my benefit keep growing if I wait past 70?
Delaying past 70 does not earn additional delayed retirement credits. Additional covered earnings can affect the benefit calculation in some cases, but that is different from a credit for waiting to claim.
Should both spouses claim Social Security at the same age?
Not necessarily. Compare both earnings records, spending needs, and survivor considerations. Different claiming ages may fit a household better than matching them automatically.
Reviewed October 18, 2026. General education, not individualized investment, tax, legal, or benefit advice. Illustrations are hypothetical and do not guarantee results. Confirm current rules and personal benefit eligibility with SSA and Medicare. Tax references: SSA’s benefit-tax FAQ and South Carolina Department of Revenue’s income tax FAQs. Insurance services are offered through Coast Financial Group by appropriately licensed agents. Coast is not affiliated with or endorsed by SSA, Medicare, or any government agency.
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