"Claiming Social Security at 62 will significantly reduce Social Security benefits because there is a system of early-filing penalties in place. Retirees get their standard benefit at a designated age called their Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or after. A claim at 62 could be five full years before FRA, which would mean that anyone who claims at that time faces a 30% reduction in their standard benefit amount."
"And you can't really get much of that money from work because there are work limits when you are collecting Social Security and earning a paycheck at the same time, if you are before your full retirement age. In 2025, if you are before your FRA all year and you work and earn more than $23,400, you lose $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above that amount."
Claiming Social Security at 62 triggers early-filing penalties that can reduce benefits by as much as 30% relative to the Full Retirement Age benefit. Full Retirement Age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Delaying benefits increases lifetime payouts and, on average, claiming at 62 can leave around $182,370 of potential benefits unclaimed. Some propose taking benefits early and investing them, but most beneficiaries cannot reinvest full benefit amounts because benefits fund living expenses. Work-income limits before FRA restrict earnings; in 2025, beneficiaries under FRA lose $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above $23,400. Early claiming is therefore often financially costly and impractical.
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