If you are like most people counting on Social Security to cover your retirement years, the age at which you claim your benefits matters—a lot.
What is the best age to claim Social Security to get the biggest check?
You can start collecting Social Security as early as age 62, doing so means you are locking in a lower payment for life. Let’s break it down. You have a “Full Retirement Age” (FRA), which is 66 and 10 months if you were born in 1959, or 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you start claiming your benefits before this age, your monthly check takes a hit. The Social Security Administration reduces your benefits by around 5/9 of 1% for each month before your FRA (and a little more for months beyond 36). Over time, this adds up.
For example, claiming benefits at age 62 instead of 67 results in a 30% permanent cut to your monthly check. Ouch.
On the flip side, if you wait until age 70, you will receive delayed retirement credits that can boost your monthly benefits by up to 24%. That is money you could be leaving on the table if you claim early. Waiting until 70 does not always mean you will get the highest lifetime benefit—it depends on how long you live—but for many people, especially those with longer life expectancies or higher-earning spouses, waiting pays off.
How does working less than 35 years affect your Social Security benefits?
Here is something many folks overlook: Social Security calculates your monthly benefit using your 35 highest-earning years. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the Social Security Administration fills in those gaps with zeros. And yes, those zero-income years drag down your average, reducing your monthly benefit.
Let’s say you worked for 25 years and decided to retire. That means 10 years of zero income are factored into your benefits calculation. You are basically lowering your own monthly payout.
Even if you already have 35 years of work under your belt, working a few extra years—especially if you are earning more now than you did in your early career—can increase your benefit. Every additional year of higher income can push out a lower-earning year from your 35-year average.
So, if you are nearing retirement and still able to work, staying on the job a little longer could seriously bump up your monthly Social Security check.
Will working after claiming Social Security reduce my check?
Yes, it can—especially if you start collecting benefits before reaching your Full Retirement Age.
Here is the deal: If you claim early and continue working, the government places an earnings limit on how much you can make without impacting your benefits. In 2025, if you earn more than $23,400 before hitting your FRA, your Social Security checks will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn over that limit.
Let’s say you are 64, started collecting benefits, and pick up a part-time job that pays $30,000 a year. That is $6,600 over the limit, meaning you would lose $3,300 in benefits that year. And if you are working full-time and earning a decent salary, your benefits might temporarily disappear altogether.
The good news? Once you reach FRA, you can earn as much as you want, and your Social Security payments will not be reduced anymore. In fact, if some of your benefits were withheld earlier due to high earnings, your monthly check may get recalculated and go up later.
Continue reading:
Social Security: What is the Full Retirement Age (FRA) if you were born in 1958?
At what age can a wife take half of her husband’s Social Security?
