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When does waiting to claim Social Security pay off?
Compare starting Social Security at 62, at your full retirement age, or at 70: the monthly check, the lifetime total, and the age at which waiting catches up.
Yearfold is a financial-education tool. It is not a registered investment adviser and does not provide personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are probabilistic projections based on historical data and stated assumptions; they are not guarantees. Methodology
By Mindaugas Laucius · Last reviewed October 21, 2026
Claim at 62
$1,400/mo
70.0% of your full benefit
Claim at 67
$2,000/mo
100.0% of your full benefit
Claim at 70
$2,480/mo
124.0% of your full benefit
Break-even ages
- Claiming at 67 catches up with claiming at 62 at about age 78 and 8 months.
- Claiming at 70 catches up with claiming at 62 at about age 80 and 4 months.
- Claiming at 70 catches up with claiming at 67 at about age 82 and 6 months.
- From 62
- From 67
- From 70
| Claim at | Expected lifetime total* |
|---|---|
| 62 | $320,628 |
| 67 | $340,438 |
| 70 | $339,235 |
*Each check weighted by the chance of being alive to receive it (SSA period life table, from age 62), in today’s dollars.
How this works
Your benefit is set by the month you start it, and it stays at that level for life. Start before your full retirement age (FRA) and SSA trims it by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of 1% for every month beyond that. Wait past FRA and you earn delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% per month, which is 8% a year, until age 70. Your FRA depends on your birth year: 66 for 1943–1954, rising two months per year to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Each December the check gets a cost-of-living increase, so in today's dollars it stays flat. That lets us compare claim ages with simple running totals: the earlier claim starts ahead, the later claim collects more per month, and the break-even age is the point where the later running total catches the earlier one.
Break-even ignores the one thing nobody knows, which is how long you live. So we also show an expected lifetime total: each future check is weighted by the chance of still being alive to receive it, using SSA's period life table, measured from age 62 so every option is compared on the same footing.
Worked example: Born in 1964 with a $2,000 benefit at full retirement age (67)
- Claim at 62: 60 months early. Reduction = 36 × 5/9% + 24 × 5/12% = 20% + 10% = 30%, so the check is $2,000 × 0.70 = $1,400.
- Claim at 70: 36 months late. Credit = 36 × 2/3% = 24%, so the check is $2,000 × 1.24 = $2,480.
- Break-even, 62 vs 70: the totals match when $1,400 × (t − 744) = $2,480 × (t − 840), with t in months of age. Solving gives t = (2,480 × 840 − 1,400 × 744) ÷ (2,480 − 1,400) = 1,041,600 ÷ 1,080 ≈ 964 months.
Waiting until 70 overtakes claiming at 62 at about age 80 and 4 months. Claiming at 67 overtakes 62 at 78 and 8 months, and 70 overtakes 67 at 82 and 6 months.
The full method behind every Yearfold number is on the methodology page.
Sources
- SSA — normal retirement age by year of birth
- SSA — benefit reduction for early retirement
- SSA — delayed retirement credits
- SSA — period life table
Rules verified against these sources on October 21, 2026.
Questions
What if I claim early and keep working?
Before your full retirement age, the earnings test applies. In 2026 SSA withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480, or $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach FRA. Withheld months aren't lost: your benefit is recalculated upward once you reach FRA. This calculator assumes no benefits are withheld.
Does this include spousal or survivor benefits?
No. It compares your own retirement benefit. For a married couple, the higher earner's claim age also sets the survivor benefit the other spouse would keep, which often argues for the higher earner waiting. Our guide to choosing a claim age walks through those household trade-offs.
Should the 2032 trust fund shortfall change my answer?
The Trustees project that, without a fix from Congress, benefits could be cut to about 78% of scheduled amounts starting in 2032. A cut would apply to everyone collecting at that time, whatever age they started, so it shrinks every option rather than favoring one. Our 2032 research page shows how a cut changes retirement odds.
Is a break-even age a reason to claim at a particular age?
It's one input. Health and family longevity, other income to cover the years before a delayed claim, a spouse's needs and taxes all matter too. Delaying works like buying inflation-protected longevity insurance; claiming early gives you money while you're most likely to enjoy it. This tool shows the trade-off; it doesn't pick an age for you.
Where do I find my benefit at full retirement age?
Sign in to your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount. Your statement lists estimated monthly benefits at 62, at your full retirement age and at 70, based on your actual earnings record. Enter the full-retirement-age figure here.
See this in your full plan
The free 10,000-path calculator puts this answer next to everything else: savings, spending, Social Security, taxes, Medicare and a spouse, with the odds your money lasts. Your inputs from this tool carry over.
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