Early or Late Retirement
Deciding when to claim is a permanent decision that locks in your lifetime payout. At age 62, you receive only 70% of your PIA. At age 70, you receive 124%. Each year you delay past your FRA of 67 adds a guaranteed, simple 8% annual return via delayed-retirement credits. For a maximum earner claiming at age 70 in 2026, that is about $5,181 per month ( $62,200 annually) in starting benefits—a substantial inflation-adjusted annuity that can act as a massive safety net before you touch a single dollar of your investment portfolio. (Note that this is a different person from the maximum earner first eligible in 2026 used in the bend-point example above: someone claiming at 70 this year was born in 1956, has an FRA of 66 years and 4 months, and had their PIA fixed by the 2018 bend points and every COLA since. Your bend points are permanently fixed in the year you turn 62, regardless of when you actually file.)
- Age 62
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The earliest claiming age. You receive .
- Age 67
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Full retirement age for everyone born in 1960 or later. You receive .
- Age 70
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The maximum benefit milestone. You receive . There is no financial benefit to delaying past age 70.
The actuarial break-even point—where the cumulative payments from delaying to age 70 surpass claiming at age 62—typically lands between ages 79 and 82. If you are in poor health, claiming early is rational. If you expect average or superior longevity, delaying is the superior strategy. Spouses must look at their combined life expectancies; the higher earner delaying to 70 maximizes the guaranteed survivor benefit for whichever spouse lives longer.
The SSA early/late claiming calculator provides estimates based on your birth year.