STUDmoney · Accounts

Social Security claiming

Also known as

claim social security · ss at 62 · delay to 70 · file and suspend

Community talk may be wrong. Not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. No return or outcome is promised.

In brief

Social Security claiming is the choice of when to start retirement benefits, commonly discussed as age 62, full retirement age, or 70.

The common picture

Earliest retirement-claiming age: usually 62Starting before full retirement age reduces the monthly retirement benefit.

Full retirement age: 67 for people born in 1960 or laterOlder birth years have different full-retirement ages.

Born 1960+: age 62 pays 70% of the full-age amountClaiming at 67 pays 100%; delaying to 70 pays 124% of that amount.

Delayed-retirement increases stop at 70These percentages describe claiming age; cost-of-living adjustments are a separate factor.

Personal dollar amounts: the Social Security statementThe discussions compare the person’s estimates rather than a podcast average.

Spousal and survivor benefits have separate rulesThe household comparison in the notes is different from the worker’s own retirement-benefit calculation.

People argue delay-versus-cash using a personal SSA statement, health, other income and spousal rules, and discard stale claiming-trick memes.

Good to know. Stale claiming tricks. This is not advice. SSA owns the current rules.

What people say

The job: pick a claiming age with the current SSA rules in front of them.
Bogleheads and r/financialindependence argue delay-to-70 vs cash-now.
Health and other income change the thread more than a slogan.
Not advice. SSA.gov beats a 2016 file-and-suspend meme.

How people do it

Create/read my Social Security.
They do not claim from a viral spreadsheet without the statement.

Amounts people use

Reduction/credit percents are SSA’s current table — people quote them, then confirm.

How people keep it

A claiming year written next to the rest of the drawdown.

How it may feel

A large, delayed decision.

How long

One claiming choice, then a monthly benefit.

The longer notes

4% rule and FIRE are portfolio drawdown. This is the public benefit.

Good to know

Outdated claiming loopholes.
Ignoring spousal effects.

Earlier wording (updated)

A personal SSA statement Not a podcast’s average.
62 / FRA / 70 The three posters.
Spousal and survivor talk Household, not solo.
Not the 4% rule Different pile.

Checked sources

Selected links for the notes above, not a review of every historical claim.

Social Security: delayed claiming for birth years 1960+ (opens in a new tab)
Official context · Checked 2026-09-12
67 gives 100%, 70 gives 124%, and delayed-retirement credits stop increasing after 70. This reference explains the named format or rule. Individual community accounts remain attributed in the notes.
Social Security: claiming before full retirement age (opens in a new tab)
Official context · Checked 2026-09-12
For birth years 1960 and later: full retirement age 67; claiming at 62 gives 70% of the full-age retirement amount. This reference explains the named format or rule. Individual community accounts remain attributed in the notes.