(over)
When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits
When to Start Receiving Retirement Benets
At Social Security, we’re often asked, “What’s the
best age to start receiving retirement benets?” The
answer is that there’s not a single “best age” for
everyone and, ultimately, it’s your choice. The most
important thing is to make an informed decision. Base
your decision about when to apply for benets on
your personal and family circumstances. We hope the
following information will help you understand how we
t into your retirement decision.
Your decision is a personal one
Would it be better for you to start getting benets
early with a smaller monthly amount for more years
or wait to receive a larger monthly payment for a
shorter period of time? The answer is personal and
depends on several factors, such as your current
cash needs, your current health, and family longevity.
Also, consider if you plan to work in retirement and
if you have other sources of retirement income. You
must also estimate your future nancial needs and
obligations and calculate your future Social Security
benet. Weigh all the facts carefully before making
the crucial decision about when to begin to receive
Social Security benets. This decision affects the
monthly benet you will receive for the rest of your life
and may affect benet protection for your survivors.
Your monthly retirement benet will be
higher if you delay your start date
Your full retirement age varies based on the year you
were born. You can visit www.ssa.gov/benets/
retirement/planner/ageincrease.html to nd your
full retirement age. We base your basic Social
Security benet — the amount you would receive at
your full retirement age — on your lifetime earnings.
However, the actual amount you are entitled to
each month depends on when you start to receive
benets. You can start your retirement benet at any
point from age 62 up until age 70. Your benet will
be higher the longer you delay your start date. This
adjustment is usually permanent. It sets the base for
the benets you’ll get for the rest of your life. You’ll
get annual cost-of-living adjustments and, depending
on your work history, may receive higher benets if
you continue to work.
The chart below shows an example of how your
monthly benet amount increases if you delay when
you start to receive benets.
Let’s say you turn 62 in 2024. Your full retirement
age is 67, and your monthly benet that starts at full
retirement age is $2,000. If you start to get benets
at age 62, we’ll reduce your monthly benet 30% to
$1,400 to account for the longer time you receive
benets. This decrease is usually permanent.
If you choose to delay your receipt of benets until
age 70, you would increase your monthly benet
to $2,480. This increase is the result of delayed
retirement credits you earn for your decision to
postpone receipt of benets past your full retirement
age. The benet at age 70 in this example is about
77% more than the benet you would receive each
month if you start to get benets at age 62 — a
difference of $1,080 each month.
Retirement may be longer than
you think
When you think about retirement, be sure to plan for
the long term. Many of us will live much longer than
the “average” retiree, and most women live longer
than men. About 1 out of every 3 65-year-olds today
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
Monthly Benefit Amounts Differ Based on the
Age You Decide to Start Receiving Benefits
Age You Choose to Start Receiving Benefits
Note: This example assumes a benefit of $2,000 at a full retirement age of 67
70
62
$1400
63
$1500
64
$1600
65
$1733
66
$1867
67
$2000
68
$2160
69
$2320
$2480
What Is the Best Age to Start Receiving
Social Security Retirement Benefits?
SSA.gov
will live until at least age 90, and 1 out of 7 will live
until at least age 95. Social Security benets, which
last as long as you live, provide valuable protection
against outliving savings and other sources of
retirement income. Again, you’ll want to choose a
retirement age based on your circumstances, so you’ll
have enough Social Security income to complement
your other sources of retirement income.
Married couples have two lives to
plan for
Your spouse may be eligible for a benet based on
your work record, and it’s important to consider Social
Security protection for surviving spouses. After all,
married couples at age 65 today would typically have
at least a 50/50 chance that 1 member of the couple
will live beyond age 90. If you are the higher earner,
and you delay when you start your retirement benet,
it will result in higher monthly benets for the rest of
your life. If you die rst, it will result in higher survivor
protection for your spouse.
When you receive retirement benets, your children
may also be eligible for a benet on your work record.
This applies if they’re under age 18 or if they have a
disability that began before age 22.
You can keep working
When you reach your full retirement age, you can
work and earn as much as you want and still get your
full Social Security benet. If you’re younger than full
retirement age, and if your earnings exceed certain
dollar amounts, some of your benet payments within
the 1 year period will be withheld.
This doesn’t mean you must try to limit your earnings.
If we withhold some of your benets because you
continue to work, we’ll pay you a higher monthly
benet when you reach your full retirement age. So,
if you work and earn more than the exempt amount,
it won’t, on average, decrease the total value of your
lifetime Social Security benets — it could even
increase that value.
Here is how this works: When you reach full
retirement age, we’ll recalculate your benet to give
you credit for months you didn’t get a benet because
of your earnings. In addition, as long as you continue
to work and receive benets, we’ll check your record
every year to see whether the extra earnings will
increase your monthly benet. You can nd more
information about continuing to work after retirement
on our website at www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement/
planner/whileworking.html.
Don’t forget Medicare
If you plan to delay receipt of benets because you
still work, you’ll still need to sign up for Medicare 3
months before you reach age 65. If you don’t enroll
in Medicare medical insurance or prescription drug
coverage when you’re rst eligible, you can sign up
later. However, you may have to pay a late enrollment
penalty for as long as you have coverage. You can
nd more detailed information about Medicare on our
website at www.ssa.gov/medicare.
More resources
You can nd more information to help you decide
when to start receiving retirement benets at
www.ssa.gov/benets/retirement. If you have
a personal my Social Security account, you can
get your Social Security Statement, verify your
earnings, and get personalized benet estimates
at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
When you’re ready for benets, you can also apply
online at www.ssa.gov/applyforbenets. If you
want more information about how your earnings affect
your retirement benets, read How Work Affects Your
Benets (Publication No. 05-10069). This pamphlet
has the current annual and monthly earnings limits.
Contacting Us
There are several ways to contact us including online,
by mail, by phone, and in person. If you cannot use
our online services, we can help you by phone when
you call our National toll-free 800 Number.
If you don’t have access to the internet, we offer many
automated services by telephone, 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, so you may not need to speak with a
representative. Call us toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 or
at our TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, if you’re deaf or
hard of hearing. We provide free interpreter services
upon request. For quicker access to a representative,
try calling early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10
a.m. local time) or later in the day. We are less busy
later in the week (Wednesday to Friday) and later
in the month.
Social Security Administration
Publication No. 05-10147
May 2024 (Recycle prior editions)
When to Start Receiving Retirement Benefits
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense
