When do i get social security benefits

It is important to remember:. Learn about Emergency Assistance for Homeowners and Renters. Retirement Benefits Learn Apply Manage. Full normal Retirement Age Months between age 62 and full retirement age 2. At Age 62 3. You can start receiving your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount will be lower than your full retirement benefit amount.

If you start receiving your benefits before your full retirement age , we will reduce your benefits based on the number of months you receive benefits before you reach your full retirement age.

If you wait until age 70 to start your benefits, your benefit amount will be higher because you will receive delayed retirement credits for each month you delay filing for benefits. There is no additional benefit increase after you reach age 70, even if you continue to delay starting benefits. Leaving AARP. Got it! Please don't show me this again for 90 days. Cancel Continue. Thank You. Your email address is now confirmed. Continue to AARP. Offer Details. Thank you for your interest in volunteering!

Javascript is not enabled. Source: Social Security Administration. It may go up over time due to cost-of-living adjustments COLAs , but only slightly.

Although the cost-of-living adjustments announced each year are usually only slight increases, Social Security benefits will increase by 5. The longer you can afford to wait after age 62 up to 70 , the larger your monthly benefit will be.

Other factors should be considered, including your expected longevity and whether you or your spouse plan to file for spousal benefits. You should also consider the tax, investment opportunity, and health coverage implications. The age at which delayed retirement credits cease for those who have not yet taken their Social Security benefits. How are your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and other health markers? How long have your parents and other relatives lived?

If you foresee an above-average life expectancy for yourself, then you may come out ahead by waiting to claim benefits. To make an educated guess about when to claim, try doing a breakeven analysis. The analysis can tell you when the total benefits you would receive by waiting will begin to exceed the total that you would receive by taking benefits earlier. The Social Security website will tell you that regardless of when you start claiming, your lifetime benefits will be similar if you live as long as the average retiree.

The problem is that not everyone will have an average life expectancy, hence all the different claiming strategies. As with claiming benefits on your own record, your spousal benefit will be reduced if you take it before reaching your FRA.

The highest spousal benefit that you can receive is half of the benefit that your spouse is entitled to at their FRA. While spouses get a lower benefit if they claim before reaching their own FRA, they will not get a larger spousal benefit by waiting to claim after their FRA—say, at age However, a nonworking or lower-earning spouse may get a larger spousal benefit if the working spouse has some late-career, high-earning years that boost their benefits. If the higher-earning spouse dies first, then the surviving, lower-earning spouse will receive a larger Social Security check for life.

However, spouses born before Jan. It allows them to claim spousal benefits while delaying their own benefits up to age Social Security benefits can be taxable if your combined income is high enough. Your Social Security benefits may be partially taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds. The SSA defines combined income using this formula:. How do these tax considerations affect when you should apply for Social Security benefits?

Then you may want to claim early instead of waiting until age However, it's important to remember that investments have risks, and you may lose a portion or all of your invested money.