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For millions of Americans approaching retirement, the Social Security decision comes down to a tradeoff: take a smaller check sooner or wait several years for a significantly larger one.

Many Americans opt to get the money sooner.

Social Security Administration data show that 23.8% of retired workers newly entitled to benefits in 2025 began receiving them at age 62. Another 6.9% started at 63 and 7.3% at 64. In other words, well over one-third began collecting before age 65.

That comes at a price, though.

For someone turning 62 in 2026, the full retirement age is 67. A worker who starts Social Security at 62 generally receives about 70% of the benefit available at 67 — a reduction of roughly 30% that generally lasts for life.

Waiting beyond full retirement age can produce an even larger check. For people born in 1943 or later, delayed retirement credits increase benefits by 8% a year until age 70.

So why leave that money on the table?

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Some retirees simply need the money

One of the biggest reasons is financial necessity. 

For workers with substantial retirement savings, delaying Social Security can be a realistic option. They can live on a pension, 401(k), IRA, or other assets while allowing their Social Security benefit to grow.

But many households don’t have that luxury. A recent analysis of Federal Reserve data found that about 30% of households headed by someone 65 or older had neither a retirement account nor a pension.

Someone who leaves the workforce at 62 with limited savings may therefore face a very different calculation from a retiree with a large investment portfolio. The smaller Social Security check available immediately may be more valuable than a larger check five years from now.

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Retirement isn’t always voluntary

Another reason is that workers don’t necessarily get to choose when their careers end.

Layoffs, physically demanding jobs, caregiving responsibilities, and health problems can push people out of the workforce earlier than they planned.

The Social Security Administration itself notes that health problems sometimes force people to stop working early, although workers who cannot work because of a qualifying disability may want to consider Social Security Disability Insurance rather than immediately claiming reduced retirement benefits.

Finding another job at 62 that pays as much as a previous position may also be difficult. For someone who expected to work until 67 but loses a job at 62, Social Security can become an immediate source of income.

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The five-year gap has gotten bigger

There’s another important factor behind the attraction of claiming at 62: full retirement age has gradually increased.

For years, Americans thought of 65 as the traditional retirement age. Congress changed that in 1983, gradually raising Social Security’s full retirement age. It has now reached 67 for people born in 1960 or later. The earliest claiming age, however, remains 62.

That means today’s 62-year-old faces a five-year wait to receive an unreduced retirement benefit.

For someone struggling to pay a mortgage, rent, insurance, utilities, and grocery bills, five years can be a long time.

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Health and longevity change the calculation

Claiming early isn’t necessarily an irrational decision.

Social Security’s claiming rules are designed so that people who live to roughly an average life expectancy receive broadly comparable lifetime benefits whether they claim earlier or later. But individual circumstances vary enormously.

A healthy 62-year-old with longevity in the family may place greater value on waiting, since a larger monthly benefit becomes increasingly valuable the longer the person lives.

Someone in poor health may reach a different conclusion. Receiving smaller checks for more years could make sense if the person doesn’t expect to live well into his or her 80s.

The decision can be especially important for married couples because a higher earner’s claiming decision may ultimately affect the income available to a surviving spouse.

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Fear can also play a role

Some Americans simply prefer having the money in hand.

Persistent warnings about Social Security’s long-term financing problems may reinforce that instinct, even though claiming at 62 doesn’t protect a retiree from future changes Congress might make to the program.

For some people, the reasoning is straightforward: Social Security taxes came out of their paychecks for decades, and once they become eligible at 62, they want to begin collecting.

That approach trades a guaranteed larger future monthly payment for the certainty of receiving benefits today.

Consider someone entitled to $2,000 a month at a full retirement age of 67.

Claiming at 62 would reduce that benefit to approximately $1,400 a month. Waiting until 67 would provide the full $2,000. Waiting until 70 could raise the benefit to roughly $2,480 because of delayed retirement credits. The actual amounts depend on the worker’s earnings record and claiming date.

That means the difference between claiming at 62 and 70 could exceed $1,000 a month for the rest of the retiree’s life.

But getting the larger check requires financing as many as eight years without Social Security.

For many Americans, that is the real issue. The question isn’t simply whether waiting produces a bigger benefit. It is whether they can afford to wait.

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One more consideration for people who keep working

Workers can claim Social Security before full retirement age and continue working, but there’s another complication.

In 2026, Social Security generally withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 a beneficiary under full retirement age earns above $24,480. Different rules apply during the year a person reaches full retirement age, and the agency later adjusts benefits to account for months in which payments were withheld.

That makes claiming early less straightforward for someone who plans to continue earning a substantial paycheck.

Ultimately, age 62 remains attractive because retirement decisions aren’t made on a spreadsheet alone. A larger Social Security benefit years in the future can be valuable, but current bills, health, employment prospects, and available savings often determine what retirees can actually do.

For Americans who have enough resources to choose, the Social Security Administration recommends comparing the monthly benefits available at different claiming ages through a personal “my Social Security” account before making the decision.