{
  "slug": "social-security-claiming",
  "name": "Social Security claiming",
  "aliases": [
    "claim social security",
    "ss at 62",
    "delay to 70",
    "file and suspend"
  ],
  "family": "accounts",
  "heat": "mid",
  "talk": "Some talk",
  "mostDiscussed": false,
  "firstLine": "Social Security claiming is the choice of when to start an eligible retirement benefit. Stopping work and starting benefits can happen at different times.",
  "whyLine": "Accounts weigh current income needs, family longevity, other savings and a spouse’s situation. A larger later monthly benefit and more years of earlier payments answer different concerns.",
  "feelWords": [
    "claim at 62",
    "delay to 70",
    "full retirement age",
    "social security"
  ],
  "commonPicture": [
    {
      "lead": "Retirement benefits can usually start at 62",
      "why": "Starting before full retirement age reduces the monthly retirement benefit. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Born in 1960 or later: full retirement age is 67",
      "why": "The comparison is 70% at 62, 100% at 67 and 124% at 70, before separate cost-of-living adjustments. [community]"
    },
    {
      "lead": "Spousal and survivor benefits have separate rules",
      "why": "Personal statement estimates and household circumstances matter beyond the worker’s claiming-age comparison. [community]"
    }
  ],
  "watchFor": "Stale claiming tricks. This is not advice. SSA owns the current rules.",
  "whatPeopleSay": [
    "**The job:** pick a claiming age with the current SSA rules in front of them. [community]",
    "**Bogleheads and r/financialindependence** argue delay-to-70 vs cash-now. [community]",
    "**Health and other income** change the thread more than a slogan. [community]",
    "**Use the current Social Security Administration rules:** older “file-and-suspend” discussions can describe claiming arrangements that are no longer available. This is not advice. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleRunIt": [
    "**Read the personal Social Security statement:** check the earnings history and estimated benefits through the official my Social Security account. [community]",
    "**They do not claim from a viral spreadsheet without the statement.** [community]"
  ],
  "amountsPeopleUse": [
    "**Reduction/credit percents are SSA’s current table** — people quote them, then confirm. [community]"
  ],
  "howPeopleKeepIt": [
    "**A claiming year written next to the rest of the drawdown.** [community]"
  ],
  "howItFeels": [
    "**A large, delayed decision.** [community]"
  ],
  "howLongPeopleRunIt": [
    "**One claiming choice,** then a monthly benefit. [community]"
  ],
  "deepDive": [
    "**Benefit income and portfolio withdrawals work together:** Social Security supplies an eligible public benefit; the 4% and financial-independence discussions estimate what investments might supply. Choosing a claiming date changes the amount and timing of income that the rest of the plan must cover. [community]"
  ],
  "watchForLong": [
    "**Outdated claiming loopholes.** [community]",
    "**Ignoring spousal effects.** [community]"
  ],
  "related": [
    "four-percent-rule",
    "fire-number",
    "roth-conversions",
    "beneficiaries"
  ],
  "researchPointer": [],
  "housePointers": [],
  "playPointer": null,
  "sources": [
    "Bogleheads Social Security claiming threads",
    "r/financialindependence 62-vs-70 talk"
  ],
  "disclaimer": "Community talk may be wrong. Not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. No return or outcome is promised.",
  "quickAnswerHistory": [
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "A personal SSA statement",
          "why": "Not a podcast’s average. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "62 / FRA / 70",
          "why": "The three posters. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Spousal and survivor talk",
          "why": "Household, not solo. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Not the 4% rule",
          "why": "Different pile. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "definition",
      "rows": [
        "Social Security claiming is the choice of when to start retirement benefits, commonly discussed as age 62, full retirement age, or 70."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "communityPicture",
      "rows": [
        "People argue delay-versus-cash using a personal SSA statement, health, other income and spousal rules, and discard stale claiming-trick memes."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "firstLine",
      "rows": [
        "Social Security claiming is 62 vs full retirement age vs 70 — a dated public formula, not a FIRE flex."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whyLine",
      "rows": [
        "Social Security claiming is 62 vs full retirement age vs 70 — a dated public formula, not a FIRE flex."
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "commonPicture",
      "rows": [
        {
          "lead": "Earliest retirement-claiming age: usually 62",
          "why": "Starting before full retirement age reduces the monthly retirement benefit. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Full retirement age: 67 for people born in 1960 or later",
          "why": "Older birth years have different full-retirement ages. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Born 1960+: age 62 pays 70% of the full-age amount",
          "why": "Claiming at 67 pays 100%; delaying to 70 pays 124% of that amount. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Delayed-retirement increases stop at 70",
          "why": "These percentages describe claiming age; cost-of-living adjustments are a separate factor. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Personal dollar amounts: the Social Security statement",
          "why": "The discussions compare the person’s estimates rather than a podcast average. [community]"
        },
        {
          "lead": "Spousal and survivor benefits have separate rules",
          "why": "The household comparison in the notes is different from the worker’s own retirement-benefit calculation. [community]"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "whatPeopleSay",
      "rows": [
        "**Not advice.** SSA.gov beats a 2016 file-and-suspend meme. [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "howPeopleRunIt",
      "rows": [
        "**Create/read my Social Security.** [community]"
      ]
    },
    {
      "field": "deepDive",
      "rows": [
        "**4% rule and FIRE** are portfolio drawdown. This is the public benefit. [community]"
      ]
    }
  ]
}