Is it better to collect Social Security at age 62 or 70? A comprehensive study weighs in and offers a clear answer.

More than 51 million retired workers received a Social Security check in June. For most of these retirees, the check is a financial lifeline they can’t live without.

For 23 years, national polling organization Gallup has conducted an annual survey to assess retired workers’ dependence on Social Security income. In 2024, just 11% of respondents said their Social Security check was not necessary to make ends meet. Since 2002, between 80% and 90% of retirees have consistently told Gallup they rely on their monthly paychecks to cover at least some of their expenses.

In other words, making the most of Social Security isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a necessity for most current and future retirees.

But to maximize what you get from Social Security, you first need to understand the basics of how payments are calculated. That includes the age at which you can claim benefits, which can drastically change the amount you’ll collect each month and over your lifetime — especially if you choose to collect benefits at the earliest (age 62) or latest (age 70) of the traditional claiming ages.

These four variables are used to calculate your monthly Social Security check.

Although some aspects of Social Security can be confusing or surprising (for example, Social Security benefits can be taxed at the federal level as well as in nine states), the variables used to calculate your monthly check are easy to understand. The four factors, in no particular order, are:

Your work and earnings history are virtually inseparable. When the Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates your monthly payment, it looks at your 35 highest earning years, adjusted for inflation. This means that if you earn more in wages and salaries over your lifetime, you are more likely to receive a larger benefit in retirement.

On the other hand, those who have not worked at least 35 years can expect a penalty. For each year you work less than 35 years, the SSA averages $0 in your calculation.

Your full retirement age is the age at which you become eligible to receive 100% of your retirement benefit. Because your full retirement age is determined entirely by your birth year, this is the only factor of the four that you have no control over.

The fourth variable—the one that often accounts for the biggest swings in monthly and lifetime benefits—is the age at which you can claim benefits. Although retirees can start collecting their benefits as early as age 62, the program encourages patience with a cash “reward.” For every year an eligible worker waits to collect their benefits, starting at age 62 and continuing through age 70, their benefit can increase by as much as 8%. You can see how this dynamic plays out in the table below.

Data source: Social Security Administration.

There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to claiming benefits at age 62 and 70.

While it may not be obvious from the large percentage differences in the table above, each age in the traditional 62-70 age range has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages. Looking ahead, the earliest and latest filing ages (62 and 70) will likely continue to grow in popularity. Let’s take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages associated with these claims on the opposite spectrum.

Age 62: The primary appeal of collecting benefits at age 62 is that you don’t have to wait. The opportunity to receive benefits as soon as you become eligible can be especially appealing if you have debts to pay off, are currently unemployed, or have one or more chronic conditions that could shorten your life.

Another lure of claiming at age 62 is the expectation that benefit cuts will come in less than a decade. A 2024 report by the Social Security Board of Trustees estimates that the Old Age Security and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will exhaust its asset reserves by 2033. If OASI’s asset reserves are exhausted, retirees and surviving beneficiaries could face cuts of up to 21% over nine years. Taking Social Security as early as possible can be an attempt to get ahead of potential cuts.

On the other hand, applying for benefits at age 62 will permanently reduce your monthly benefit by up to 30%, depending on your year of birth. Early filers may also be subject to the retirement earnings test, which allows the SSA to withhold some or all of your benefits, depending on how much you earn.

Age 70: On the other end of the spectrum, claiming benefits at age 70 will maximize what you get each month. In exchange for waiting eight years after you initially become eligible to collect benefits, you’ll receive between 24% and 32% more per month (depending on your birth year) than you would have received at full retirement age.

While the maximum monthly payment probably sounds great, there is a potential downside to collecting benefits at age 70. The concern is that there is no guarantee that you will live long enough to maximize what you receive from Social Security compared to what you would have received had you claimed benefits at a younger age.

With a clearer understanding of what’s at stake, the big question is: Is it better to collect Social Security at age 62 or 70? A major study published five years ago seems to have a clear answer.

Patience is usually the most important factor in maximizing your Social Security income.

Before I dive in, let me start this discussion by saying that everyone is on their own unique path. The combination of your financial needs, access to retirement plans, tax implications, marital status, personal health, etc. will be unique to you. should play a role in deciding what age is best for you to collect Social Security benefits.

Still, researchers at the online financial planning firm United Income published a report five years ago (“The Retirement Solution Hiding in Plain Sight”) examining the role of age reporting in optimizing Social Security benefits. Using data from the University of Michigan’s Health and Retirement Study, United Income analyzed the claims of 20,000 retired workers to determine how many maximized their lifetime Social Security income and at what age (if any) retirees were most likely to optimize their lifetime benefits.

The study’s main indicator was that only 4% of the 20,000 retired workers surveyed optimized their Social Security benefits over their lifetime. Since there’s no specific plan for claiming benefits, this finding isn’t all that surprising.

A more telling aspect of the United Income study concerns the inverse relationship between actual and optimal claims. While 79% of the 20,000 retired workers in the study began claiming benefits between ages 62 and 64, only a combined 8% of claims in those three age brackets would maximize lifetime Social Security income.

By comparison, while few retired workers chose to wait until age 70 to start collecting benefits, the researchers found that the latest traditional benefit age would be optimal for 57% of the retired workers they studied. The four ages that gave retired workers the greatest likelihood of maximizing their lifetime Social Security contributions were (in order) 70, 67, 69, and 68.

The United Income study does not guarantee that taking benefits at age 70 is the smartest choice for future retirees. As noted, there are legitimate reasons why taking benefits at age 62 (such as having one or more chronic health conditions) might make sense.

But this study shows that, when taken on a broader scale, patience can be incredibly valuable. If you’re in your 50s or 60s and in relatively good health, waiting is statistically rewarded, more often than not, when it comes to collecting Social Security income.