Retirement Social Security

5 Things Most People Don’t Realize They’re Giving up When They Claim Social Security at 62

Claiming early brings income sooner, but it can leave you with less for decades.

By Chris Lewis, CEPF , Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Oct. 9, 2026

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You can start collecting Social Security as early as age 62. It's a tempting move, especially if you're no longer working, your savings are running low, or you just want to access senior benefits after working for decades.

Claiming at 62 means immediate income but usually comes with a lasting cost. Trade-offs don't vanish when you reach full retirement age. Many of them can potentially follow you for the rest of your life and perhaps your spouse.

Whether claiming early makes sense depends on your health, life expectancy, other sources of income, and whether you're still working. Here's what you give up when you claim at 62 and why it matters over a long retirement.

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Up to 30% of your monthly benefit

The full benefit you'd receive if you retire at full retirement age (FRA) is called the primary insurance amount (PIA). For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67.

When you claim it early, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will reduce your benefit by a small percentage for each month before reaching full retirement age. That's a 30% reduction for workers with an FRA of 67.

For example, if your full benefit is $2,000 per month, a 30% reduction could be around $1,400 before other adjustments. That $600 gap is every month, and it's permanent. It doesn't go away when you hit 67.

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Delayed retirement credits

If you wait past FRA, you get delayed retirement credits of two-thirds of 1% a month or 8% a year until age 70. If your FRA is 67, waiting until 70 could get you 124% of your retirement benefit. In the example above, that's $2,480 a month at 70 vs. $1,400 at 62, a $1,080 difference each month.

Claiming early doesn't close that door completely. When you reach FRA, you can choose to suspend your benefits and earn delayed credits until age 70. But those credits would go to a benefit that has already been cut. And while your benefits are suspended, anyone receiving benefits on your record (except divorced spouses) will also be suspended.

Part of your spouse's survivor benefit

Social Security survivor benefits are generally based on the deceased worker's benefit.

A surviving spouse who has reached full retirement age can normally receive 100% of the deceased worker's benefit. A worker who delayed retirement can pass applicable delayed retirement credits to a surviving spouse.

However, if the higher earner takes an early reduced retirement benefit, this can reduce the amount available to a surviving spouse.

That's why timing is especially important if one spouse has substantially higher lifetime earnings. The claiming decision of the higher earner can influence the income that's available to the lower-earning spouse after the death of the higher earner.

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Full benefits while you keep working

If you claim before FRA and continue to work, you're subject to the retirement earnings test.

In 2026, the SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you make over $24,480. It withholds $1 for every $3 you make over $65,160 in the year you hit your full retirement age. For that last year, the SSA only counts the earnings you have before the month you reach FRA.

For example, say in 2026 you are under FRA all year and earned $34,480. You'd be $10,000 over the limit. The SSA might suspend $5,000 in benefits.

The good news is that withheld benefits are not gone forever. SSA will recalculate your benefit at FRA, crediting the months it held back. Also, only earned income from work applies to the limit. Pensions, annuities, and investment earnings do not.

Still, the withholding could disrupt your cash flow just when you're counting on those checks. There's no earnings limit when you reach FRA.

Larger dollar increases from future COLAs

Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) are percentage increases, so a smaller monthly benefit generally means a smaller COLA increase in dollar terms. If you claim at 62 and receive a reduced benefit, future COLAs will be applied to that lower benefit amount.

Benefits rose by 2.8% in 2026. Here's how that raise looks at different benefit levels:

It added $39 a month on a $1,400 benefit
It added $56 to $2,000
It added about $69 to $2,480

Those dollar gaps could grow over time as COLAs are applied to different benefit amounts. While claiming early doesn't mean giving up Social Security's inflation protection, it does mean percentage increases are generally applied to a smaller monthly benefit.

How to reverse the decision

Once you start at 62, it's hard to undo that. You can withdraw your application within 12 months, but you can only do this once. You'd also have to repay everything you and your family received, along with certain Medicare premiums and taxes withheld from your benefits.

If you miss that window, the main fallback is to suspend benefits at FRA. That could boost your benefit from there, but it doesn't get rid of the early-claiming reduction.

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Bottom line

There's nothing wrong with claiming Social Security at 62. It may make sense if your health is poor, you have a shorter life expectancy, have no other way to cope with increasing bills, or need the income after retiring.

But what often gets overlooked is that the monthly reduction from claiming early is generally permanent. The longer you live, the more important that difference in monthly benefits may become. If you're healthy and can bridge the gap with retirement savings or a part-time job, waiting might mean a bigger check and better protection against inflation.

For married couples, the stakes are steeper. If you're the higher earner, the survivor benefit your spouse could be living on for decades depends on your claiming age. An early claim could permanently reduce that income.

Before you file, check your estimated benefit for each age you may be eligible to claim in your my Social Security account. Consider the tradeoffs with your spouse or a financial professional before you decide.

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