For years, the conventional retirement advice has sounded pretty simple: Wait as long as possible to take Social Security.
There is good reason for that advice. You can begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits at 62, but claiming early permanently reduces your monthly payment. For someone turning 62 in 2026, full retirement age is 67, and beginning at 62 means receiving about 30% less each month than if that person waited until 67. Wait beyond full retirement age and the benefit continues to grow, generally by 8% for each full year of delay until age 70.
That certainly makes waiting sound like the obvious answer. But retirement decisions are rarely that simple. Social Security is not a contest to see who can produce the largest monthly check. The real question is how Social Security fits into the rest of your life—your health, finances, marriage, work and expectations for retirement.
The Social Security Administration itself says the decision about when to claim is personal and should take into account factors such as current cash needs, health and family longevity. For some people, taking Social Security at 62 may actually be reasonable.
Here are three situations when claiming early deserves serious consideration.
Your Health or Family History Makes Longevity Less Certain
One of the strongest arguments for delaying Social Security is longevity. If you live well into your 80s or 90s, receiving a larger monthly benefit for many years becomes increasingly valuable.
But not everyone enters their 60s with the same health outlook. If you have significant health problems or a strong family history of shorter life expectancy, waiting five or eight years for a larger check may not necessarily produce the best result for you. Social Security specifically notes that while delaying may make sense for someone in good health, poor health can be a reason to consider claiming earlier.
Imagine someone who retires at 62 because of health concerns and could receive $1,750 a month immediately or approximately $2,500 at 67. Waiting produces the larger monthly income, but it also means giving up roughly $105,000 of benefits during those first five years. It takes years of receiving the larger check to make up for the payments that were skipped.
That does not mean everyone with a medical condition should claim at 62. Someone unable to work because of a qualifying disability should also investigate Social Security Disability Insurance rather than automatically filing for early retirement. SSA notes that disability benefits can provide the equivalent of a full, unreduced retirement benefit for someone who qualifies.
The larger point is that Social Security decisions should not be made from a chart alone. Your health matters. So does the longevity of your parents and siblings and what you realistically expect your retirement years to look like.
Taking Social Security Keeps You From Draining Savings or Taking on Debt
Suppose you retire at 62 with some savings but not enough pension or other income to comfortably cover your monthly expenses. You could delay Social Security until 67 or 70, but doing so would require taking thousands of additional dollars from your retirement accounts every year.
Waiting might still be the better long-term decision—but it isn’t automatically better.
Retirement assets serve a purpose too. If claiming Social Security allows you to avoid high-interest debt, preserve an emergency reserve or reduce the amount you must withdraw from investments during a difficult market, taking the smaller benefit earlier may deserve consideration.
This is where retirement planning becomes more than simply comparing Social Security checks. A larger benefit at 70 does not help much if getting there requires creating financial stress throughout your 60s.
There is also something to be said for using retirement income during the years when you are most able to enjoy it. Some retirees want to travel, visit grandchildren or pursue hobbies during their early 60s while they are healthy and active. Money has utility, and that utility can change with age.
That does not mean “take the money and spend it while you can.” Social Security is designed to provide income throughout retirement, and longevity risk is real. But if claiming at 62 allows an otherwise sound retirement plan to work without exhausting other resources, it may be a legitimate strategy.
One important warning applies if you are still working. Before full retirement age, Social Security’s earnings test can temporarily reduce benefits for people earning above certain limits. In 2026, someone under full retirement age for the entire year can earn up to $24,480 before the earnings test applies; above that amount, SSA generally withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 of earnings over the limit. Once you reach full retirement age, that earnings limit disappears.
So retiring at 62 and claiming Social Security is very different from earning a substantial salary at 62 while also claiming benefits.
You’re the Lower-Earning Spouse and Your Household Has a Bigger Strategy
For married couples, the Social Security decision should rarely be made one person at a time.
Consider a couple in which one spouse has earned significantly more during his or her career. The higher earner’s Social Security benefit may eventually become one of the household’s most valuable guaranteed income sources. It can also matter to the surviving spouse later.
One possible strategy is for the lower-earning spouse to begin benefits earlier while the higher earner delays. SSA has specifically noted that when both spouses cannot delay, claiming the lower earner’s benefit first while allowing the higher earner’s benefit to grow can be worth considering.
Why prioritize the higher earner’s benefit? Delaying a retirement benefit beyond full retirement age can increase it by 8% per year until age 70, and delayed retirement credits earned by a worker can also be reflected in benefits later paid to an eligible surviving spouse.
That can make maximizing the higher earner’s check especially valuable when one spouse is expected to outlive the other by many years.
The rules surrounding retirement, spousal and survivor benefits can become complicated, however. Under today’s “deemed filing” rules, many people who are eligible for both their own retirement benefit and a spousal benefit cannot simply choose one while allowing the other to grow. Survivor benefits have different rules and can sometimes be coordinated separately from your own retirement benefit.
That is why couples may benefit from looking at Social Security as a household lifetime-income decision, rather than asking only, “When should I take mine?”
Don’t Make the Decision Based on One Number
There is one major problem with all the advice telling people they should always wait until 70: We do not all have the same retirement.
One person may be 62, healthy, enjoying work and sitting on a substantial retirement portfolio. Delaying Social Security could make tremendous sense.
Another may be 62, finished working, managing significant health concerns and needing the income now.
A married couple may decide to claim one benefit while delaying another.
All three could be making sensible decisions.
Before filing, log into your personal my Social Security account and compare the actual benefit estimates for starting at 62, full retirement age and 70. SSA provides personalized estimates showing how your claiming age changes your payment. Then look beyond the monthly number. Consider your health, savings, other retirement income, whether you will continue working and—if married—what happens financially when only one spouse remains.
And remember one other important age: 65. Medicare eligibility and Social Security retirement age are separate issues. Even someone delaying Social Security until 67 or 70 generally needs to address Medicare enrollment around age 65 unless an exception, such as qualifying employer coverage, applies.
The goal isn’t to get the biggest Social Security check possible. It’s to make the decision that gives you and your family the strongest retirement possible. •