When you claim Social Security can change your check by more than you think.
Claim early and the monthly amount is permanently smaller. Wait, and it grows for every year you hold off, up to age 70. Put in your numbers below and see the monthly difference, and what it adds up to over a long retirement.
Monthly check by the age you claim
Same earnings record. The only thing changing is the age you start.
Bar chart of monthly Social Security benefit by claiming age from 62 to 70.
Your claiming age is one piece of the income puzzle.
The free 5-question guide shows how Social Security, your savings, and lifetime income can fit together in plain English. Enter your email and it is yours in one click.
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Read your guide nowBigger checks later, or more checks sooner
Claiming at 62 starts the money flowing right away, but every check is permanently smaller. Waiting until 70 can grow the monthly amount by a large margin, though you collect for fewer years. Somewhere in the middle is a breakeven age, often in the early eighties, where waiting starts to come out ahead in total dollars.
That is why there is no single right answer. The better question is what fits your life: your health and family history, whether you are still working, what other income you have coming in, and whether a spouse will rely on your benefit later. Those are exactly the things worth talking through before you lock in a date you cannot change.
I help Las Vegas retirees fit Social Security into the bigger income picture, alongside the savings you have built. No cost, no pressure.
While you are here, try the other free tool: why the order of your market years matters →
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- How to pursue growth while helping protect your principal
- The truth about CDs and inflation
- How to build income that lasts for life
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