When Should I Take Social Security? (2026 Guide)

Updated May 2026

The views in this page are the views of Fortress Financial and not the views of Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic and Fortress Financial Group are not affiliated.

The right age to claim Social Security depends on three things: how long you expect to live, what other income you have, and whether your spouse will rely on your benefit later. Claiming at 62 locks in roughly a 30% lifetime reduction. Waiting until 70 produces about 24% more than your full retirement age benefit. For some healthy retirees with other resources, delaying benefits beyond full retirement age may result in higher lifetime benefits, although the optimal claiming age depends on individual circumstances.

This guide walks through what changes at 62, 67, and 70 in 2026 dollars, how the earnings test affects working retirees, how spousal and survivor benefits shift the math, what Social Security’s 2033 trust-fund deadline actually means for your benefit, and how the timing decision tends to play out for Mayo Clinic employees and retirees we work with.

Why does the age you claim Social Security matter so much?

Social Security is one of the very few sources of guaranteed lifetime income most retirees will ever have, and it adjusts for inflation. The age you start claiming permanently sets your monthly benefit. Pick too early and you accept a smaller check for life. Wait too long without other income and you may eat into investments faster than you would like.

For someone whose Full Retirement Age (FRA) is 67, which is everyone born in 1960 or later, the SSA math looks like this: claim at 62 and you receive about 70% of your full benefit, a permanent ~30% reduction. Wait until 70 and you receive roughly 124%, a permanent ~24% increase. That difference compounds across decades of retirement and across a survivor’s lifetime.

What are the pros and cons of claiming Social Security at 62?

Age 62 is the earliest possible claim age, and for years it has been one of the most common. The reasons are straightforward: cash now, more years to enjoy it, and one less reason to draw down investments early.

There are real cases where claiming early makes sense:

• Health or family longevity concerns. Social Security pays as long as you live. If a serious diagnosis or a family pattern points to a shorter life expectancy, more years of payments at a smaller amount can beat waiting for a larger check that arrives later.
• A retirement income gap before other sources start. If you stop working at 62, your pension hasn’t started, and you don’t want to pull heavily from investments in a down market, an early Social Security check can act as a bridge.
• Insurance against sequence-of-returns risk. The first few years of retirement are the most dangerous for a portfolio. Claiming early can reduce the dollar amount you have to pull from a market that may be falling.

The trade-off is permanent. For an FRA benefit of $1,000, claiming at 62 produces roughly $700 a month for the rest of your life and, if you’re the higher earner in a couple, for the rest of your surviving spouse’s life. At today’s life expectancies, most healthy people will live well past the break-even age of about 78 to 80, after which delaying would have produced more total dollars.

In our work with Mayo Clinic retirees, we rarely see a case for claiming at 62 unless there’s a specific reason: a known health issue, a strong preference for not drawing down 401(k) and 403(b) balances during a Roth conversion window, or a clear budgeting need. In some cases, retirees may choose to bridge the gap with cash reserves or investments while delaying benefits, depending on their financial circumstances and goals.

What changes when you wait until full retirement age (67) to claim?

Full Retirement Age is the benchmark Social Security uses. Wait until FRA and you receive 100% of your earned benefit with no reduction. You also stop being subject to the earnings test on part-time work, so you can work without your benefit being temporarily withheld.

For most pre-retirees today, FRA is 67. For people born from 1955 to 1959, FRA is 66 and a few months, scaled up by birth year. FRA is also the most common compromise: you avoid the early-claim penalty, you keep flexibility to work, and you can still elect to keep delaying past FRA if your situation supports it.

If you’re married, FRA also matters for spousal benefits. A spouse claiming on your record receives up to 50% of your FRA benefit, but only if you’ve already filed and only if they wait until their own FRA. Filing early reduces what flows to a spouse, too.

How much does delaying Social Security to age 70 actually pay?

For each full year you delay past FRA, Social Security adds roughly 8% in delayed retirement credits, up to age 70. There is no benefit to delaying past 70.

For an FRA benefit of $1,000:

• At 62: about $700 per month
• At 67 (FRA): $1,000 per month
• At 70: about $1,240 per month

That is a 77% increase in monthly income from claiming at 62 versus 70, locked in for life and indexed to inflation. Few private products can match that risk-adjusted increase for a known cost.

The qualifier: you need other resources to live on while you wait. For Mayo Clinic retirees with substantial 403(b), 457(b), and pension assets, a delay strategy is often achievable and may be worth evaluating as part of a broader retirement income plan. For people without other retirement savings, waiting may not be realistic.

In 2026, the maximum monthly Social Security benefit is $4,152 at FRA and $5,181 at age 70 for someone who earned the taxable maximum for 35 years. The taxable wage cap rose to $184,500 in 2026.

Claiming Social Security at 62, 67, and 70 (illustrative)

Claiming age	Monthly benefit	vs. FRA	Notes
Age 62	$700	−30%	Earliest eligibility; permanent reduction; subject to 2026 earnings test if working
Age 67 (FRA)	$1,000	Baseline	No reduction or bonus; earnings test ends at FRA month
Age 70	$1,240	+24%	Highest monthly check; locks in larger survivor benefit; no further increase past 70

Example assumes a $1,000 FRA benefit. Your actual benefit depends on your earnings history.

How does the 2026 earnings test affect when you claim?

If you claim before FRA and continue to work, Social Security applies an earnings test. Earnings above a threshold cause part of your benefit to be temporarily withheld.

In 2026, the limits per the SSA (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html) are:

• Under FRA all year: $24,480. For every $2 you earn above this, $1 in benefits is withheld.
• Reaching FRA during the year: $65,160. For every $3 you earn above this in the months before your FRA birthday, $1 in benefits is withheld. Once you reach FRA, the test no longer applies.

The earnings test is not a permanent benefit cut. When you reach FRA, Social Security recalculates your benefit upward to credit the months that were withheld. That said, if you’re working full-time with significant earnings, claiming early often means giving back most of the early benefit to the earnings test, which usually argues for waiting until FRA or at least cutting back hours.

A common Mayo example: an employee retires from full-time clinical work at 63, picks up part-time consulting work, and starts Social Security. If consulting income runs above $24,480 in 2026, much of the early benefit gets withheld. For most people in that position, holding off on Social Security until FRA is the cleaner answer.

How do spousal and survivor benefits change the timing decision?

For married couples, Social Security claiming is rarely a single decision. There are typically two: when does the lower earner claim, and when does the higher earner claim.

A few rules that matter:

• A spouse can collect a benefit equal to up to 50% of the higher earner’s FRA amount, but only after the higher earner has filed.
• A surviving spouse inherits the higher of the two benefits being received, not the sum. The smaller of the two stops at the first death.
• Survivor benefits can begin as early as age 60 (50 if disabled), though they’re reduced if claimed before the survivor’s own FRA.

In some households, delaying the higher earner's benefit may increase future survivor benefits, which can be an important consideration when evaluating claiming options. The lower-earning spouse may claim earlier, especially if they have a smaller benefit and the family needs the cash flow.

For divorced people who were married at least 10 years and have not remarried, you may be able to claim on a former spouse’s record. That is a separate calculation worth running before you file. For more common pitfalls, see seven Social Security myths that can cost retirees thousands and five things you may not know about Social Security.

What does this look like for Mayo Clinic employees and retirees?

Mayo Clinic retirees often have the resources to delay Social Security: a Mayo pension, a substantial Mayo 403(b) and 457(b), and frequently 35-plus years of high earnings, which means their Social Security benefit at FRA or 70 is at or near the maximum.

A few patterns we see in Rochester:

• Coordinating with the Mayo pension. Mayo’s pension gives most retirees a meaningful monthly income floor. Combined with Social Security at FRA or 70, that floor often covers basic spending without heavy investment withdrawals.
• Roth conversion windows before claiming. The years between retirement and Social Security or RMDs are often the lowest-tax years a retiree will ever have. Delaying Social Security keeps taxable income low enough to do meaningful Roth conversions and other proactive tax moves out of the 403(b) and 457(b) without pushing into higher brackets or IRMAA tiers.
• Survivor benefit protection. Many Mayo households have a clear higher earner. Delaying that person’s Social Security to 70 builds the largest possible survivor benefit, which is one of the cleanest forms of longevity insurance available.

For our Scottsdale clients, the same delay logic applies, with the additional wrinkle that Arizona doesn’t tax Social Security benefits. That doesn’t change the federal claiming math, but it does affect after-tax retirement budgeting, especially for snowbirds maintaining residency in both states.

Will Social Security still be there when you retire?

This is the question we get asked more than almost any other: should I claim early because Social Security might not be there later? The short answer is no. Here is the longer answer.

The 2025 Trustees Report (https://www.ssa.gov/oact/trsum/) projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be depleted in 2033, and the combined OASI and Disability Insurance funds in 2034. Depletion is not the same as bankruptcy. At depletion, ongoing payroll taxes are projected to fund 77% of scheduled OASI benefits, or 81% of combined OASDI benefits, declining slowly over the next several decades if Congress takes no action.

So the worst-case automatic outcome, if Congress did absolutely nothing, is roughly a 19% to 23% benefit reduction beginning in the early 2030s. That outcome would be politically extraordinary. The last time Social Security faced a similar shortfall, in 1983, Congress acted to extend solvency, including by gradually raising FRA to 67. The likely fix this time is some combination of higher payroll taxes, a higher wage cap, modest benefit formula changes, or a further FRA adjustment, almost certainly phased in over years.

For someone within 10 to 15 years of retirement now, the realistic planning assumption is that benefits will be paid largely as scheduled, possibly with smaller cost-of-living adjustments or modest formula changes for higher earners. Claiming at 62 to “lock in” a smaller benefit out of fear is generally a poor trade: you give up roughly 30% of your monthly check for life to hedge against a worst case that historically Congress has acted to prevent.

When should you start planning your claiming strategy?

A reasonable rule of thumb: by your mid-50s, know your FRA and your estimated benefits at 62, 67, and 70. By your early 60s, have a working plan tied to the rest of your retirement income.

The SSA provides personalized estimates at ssa.gov/myaccount, refreshed each year. That statement is the foundation of any claiming analysis.

Within 5 years of retirement, the planning questions get specific:

• If I retire at 62, how do I bridge to FRA or 70 from cash and investments?
• If I delay Social Security, how does that affect my Roth conversion plan and IRMAA brackets?
• How will Medicare timing at 65 interact with my Social Security decision?
• What is the survivor scenario for our household, and which spouse should delay?

You don’t need to obsess over Social Security in your 40s; saving and investing matter more at that stage. But by the time you’re 5 to 10 years out, this should be in your plan, and it pairs naturally with the other retirement questions worth asking before you retire.

What this means for you

The age you take Social Security is one of the most important and least reversible decisions in retirement. Many healthy retirees with other income sources may benefit from evaluating a delayed claiming strategy, although the appropriate claiming age depends on individual factors such as longevity expectations, cash-flow needs, tax considerations, and family circumstances. Most healthy single retirees still benefit from waiting. The strongest cases for claiming early are health-related or driven by a specific cash-flow need.

If you’re a Mayo Clinic employee or retiree, this decision typically gets made alongside questions about pension lump sum versus annuity, Roth conversions out of the 403(b) and 457(b), and Medicare timing. They don’t move independently. Looking at Social Security in isolation tends to produce worse answers than looking at it as one piece of a coordinated plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Full Retirement Age (FRA) for Social Security in 2026?

FRA is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. For people born from 1955 to 1959, FRA scales from 66 and 2 months up to 66 and 10 months by birth year. Anyone born in 1954 or earlier already has an FRA of 66 or younger. FRA is the age at which you receive 100% of your earned benefit with no reduction.

How much does claiming Social Security at 62 reduce my monthly benefit?

For someone with an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 produces a permanent 30% reduction. A $1,000 FRA benefit becomes about $700 at 62. The reduction phases in monthly: each month before FRA reduces the benefit, with the largest reductions in the first 36 months.

How much extra do I get by waiting until 70?

For each year you delay past FRA, Social Security adds delayed retirement credits of 8% per year, up to age 70. Going from FRA at 67 to 70 produces about a 24% larger monthly benefit. Going from 62 to 70 nearly doubles the monthly check. There is no benefit to waiting past 70.

Will Social Security run out of money before I retire?

Not in the way the headlines suggest. The 2025 Trustees Report projects the OASI Trust Fund will be depleted in 2033, but ongoing payroll taxes would still fund about 77% of OASI benefits at that point. Without Congressional action, that translates to a roughly 23% benefit reduction starting in the early 2030s. Congress has historically acted before depletion (last in 1983) and is widely expected to act again.

Should the higher-earning spouse always wait until 70?

In most cases, yes, if the household has the resources to wait. The higher earner’s benefit becomes the survivor benefit when the first spouse dies, so delaying to 70 maximizes lifetime household income for whichever spouse lives longer. The lower-earning spouse often claims earlier.

Can I work and collect Social Security at the same time?

Yes, but if you claim before FRA and earn above the 2026 limits ($24,480 if under FRA all year, or $65,160 in the year you reach FRA), part of your benefit is temporarily withheld. After FRA, there is no earnings test and you can earn unlimited income while collecting.

Disclosures

Disclosures

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. The information provided is general in nature and may not apply to your specific situation. Please consult with a qualified financial advisor, tax professional, or attorney about your individual circumstances before making any financial decisions.

Fortress Financial Group is a Registered Investment Adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Fortress Financial Group operates as a fee-only fiduciary, meaning we are legally obligated to act in our clients’ best interests at all times.

Social Security claiming decisions involve numerous factors specific to your situation, including health, marital status, work history, and other income sources. The Social Security Administration is the authoritative source on benefit calculations and eligibility. Visit ssa.gov or speak with a qualified advisor before making a claiming decision.

Medicare rules, premiums, and IRMAA brackets change annually. The information in this article reflects rules in effect as of May 2026. Medicare.gov is the authoritative source for current premiums, brackets, and enrollment rules. Decisions about Medicare coverage should be made with consideration of your specific health needs and financial situation.

Statements about future market behavior, economic conditions, or planning outcomes are forward-looking and subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Use forward-looking statements as one input among many, not as a basis for specific decisions.

The views in this page are the views of Fortress Financial and not the views of Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic and Fortress Financial Group are not affiliated.