When should you start Social Security?

You can start Social Security at any age from 62 to 70. The age you choose sets the size of your check for life.

Earlier means smaller, later means larger. Starting at 62 can mean a check about 30 percent smaller than at full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70, adds about 8 percent.

What matters for you:

• Your health and family history. The longer you expect to live, the more waiting tends to pay.
• Whether you’re still working. Before full retirement age, earnings above a yearly limit hold back part of your benefit for a while.
• Your spouse. A surviving spouse keeps the larger of the two checks, so when the higher earner waits, the survivor’s income is larger too.
• Your other savings. Waiting is easier when savings can cover the years in between.

There’s no single right age. Seeing each choice side by side, with everything else in your plan, makes the decision clearer.

See your full plan. PlanHarbor shows your Social Security at every age from 62 to 70 next to the rest of your plan. Join the waitlist