If you're planning to grab Social Security as soon as you turn 62, the math keeps getting less friendly.
For anyone born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age is 67 — not 65 like your parents' generation.
That means filing at 62 permanently cuts your monthly check by 30 percent, and the penalty gets bigger with every birthday you add.
Here's what that looks like in real dollars.
The average retired-worker benefit sits around $1,900 a month in 2025.
Claim at 62 and you'd be looking at closer to $1,330 — roughly $570 less, every month, for the rest of your life.
Wait until 70 and delayed credits can push that same benefit above $2,300.
The full retirement age climbed in two small steps that most people never noticed.
It hit 66 for anyone born between 1943 and 1954, then rose by two months per birth year until landing at 67 for the 1960 cohort.
Congress passed that schedule back in 1983, so it's been baked in for four decades — there's no new law to blame, just a slow squeeze that finally caught up.
A second hit is easy to miss: the earnings test.
If you claim before your full retirement age and keep working, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above an annual limit — $23,400 in 2025.
That money isn't gone forever; it gets partially restored once you reach full retirement age.
But it can mean a smaller deposit than you budgeted for right when you need it most.
A lower-earning spouse can often claim on the higher earner's record, and survivor benefits can reach 100 percent of what the deceased spouse was receiving — including their delayed credits.
That's a strong argument for the higher earner in a couple to wait as long as possible, even if the other files early.
Pull your benefit estimate at ssa.gov and compare the numbers at 62, 67, and 70 side by side.
Then run the break-even math: waiting from 62 to 67 typically pays off if you live into your late 70s, and waiting to 70 pays off around 80 to 82.
If you have health problems or need the cash now, filing early can still be the right call — this isn't a moral test.
Also worth knowing: Medicare usually starts at 65 regardless of when you claim Social Security, and if you're still working with employer coverage at that size, you may be able to delay Part B.
Signing up late without qualifying coverage can trigger lifetime premium penalties.
Our take: the retirement age didn't move because anyone voted to raise it this year — it moved because of a formula written before most of us started working.
Final Thoughts
Treat 67 as your baseline, not a goal, and run your own numbers before a phone call or a deadline makes the decision for you.