Info · Reference
When to claim Social Security
The single biggest Social Security decision is when to start. Claim early and each check is permanently smaller; wait, and it grows — by about 8% a year between your full retirement age and 70. Here's the full trade-off, for anyone whose full retirement age is 67 (born 1960 or later).
Full retirement age 67 · SSA data U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary. Claim-age percentages are the statutory factors for a full retirement age of 67 (born 1960+). Life expectancy from the SSA period life table; latest COLA 2025. · source & method
- 70% of your full benefit if you claim at the earliest age, 62
- 124% if you wait until 70 — the largest possible check
- 2.8% latest annual cost-of-living adjustment (2025)
Benefit by claiming age
Your monthly benefit as a percentage of your full (age-67) amount. The same lifetime earnings can produce a check that differs by nearly 80% depending only on when you start.
| Claim age | % of full benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70% | |
| 63 | 75% | |
| 64 | 80% | |
| 65 | 86.7% | |
| 66 | 93.3% | |
| 67 Full age | 100% | |
| 68 | 108% | |
| 69 | 116% | |
| 70 | 124% |
Claiming before 67 locks in a reduction for life; delaying past 67 adds delayed-retirement credits up to age 70, after which there's no further gain.
Why longevity is the crux
Waiting trades smaller-but-earlier checks for larger-but-later ones, so the math turns on how long you live. By the SSA's own life table, a 67-year-old today can expect to live roughly 16.7 more years if male (to about 84) and 19.1 more if female (to about 86). The longer your likely lifespan, the more delaying tends to pay off.
This is general information, not advice about your own claim. The right age depends on your health, other income, marital status, and whether a spouse's or survivor's benefit is involved — none of which this page knows. It also assumes a full retirement age of 67; for people born 1955–1959 it's between 66 and 67.
Sources & method
Claim-age factors are the statutory SSA formula for a full retirement age of 67. Life expectancy and COLA from SSA data (npm run data:ssa).
Research
- Shoven, J. B., & Slavov, S. N. (2014). “Does It Pay to Delay Social Security?” Journal of Pension Economics & Finance 13(2): 121–144.
Data
- Actuarial Life Tables & Benefit Data, U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of the Chief Actuary. Period life table, wage index, bend points and COLA history. US government work in the public domain.
Educational use only, not financial advice. Every figure traces back to the sources above or to the inputs you set — the full method and the source code are public.