Almost Half of Americans Are Using AI for Money Choices. At 62, One Man Turns to a Chatbot to Decide When to File for Social Security, with $1,080 a Month on the Line

Taking Social Security eight years early may look like the conservative move, but the numbers can shift quickly once life expectancy, taxes and savings are factored in.

Ask a chatbot whether to start benefits at 62 or wait until 70 and it will usually respond right away with a confident answer. Many Americans are doing exactly that. A TD Bank survey found that 49% of Americans used AI over the past year to research or make a personal financial decision, and 83% of those users checked the advice somewhere else.

That habit of double-checking is the reassuring part. The survey looked at money decisions broadly and did not focus specifically on Social Security, but claiming benefits is the kind of choice where verifying the answer matters.

Take Mark, 62, who is asking an AI assistant whether he should begin collecting Social Security now or hold off until 70. The decision will determine his monthly income for the rest of his life. But it is not just about maximizing the size of the check; it also involves whether he values having money sooner while he is still healthy enough to enjoy retirement.

Your birth year determines the rules before AI enters the picture

If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. Filing at 62 reduces your benefit to 70% of the full amount, while waiting until 70 boosts it to 124% through delayed retirement credits. Those figures are set by Social Security’s formula, and no AI tool can alter them.

Suppose Mark’s full benefit at 67 would be $2,000 a month in today’s dollars. His monthly payment at each claiming age would look like this:

Choosing 70 instead of 62 would mean $1,080 more each month, or $12,960 more a year, before cost-of-living increases. Because those adjustments are percentage-based, a larger starting benefit produces a larger dollar increase. The 2027 increase is 3.6%.

There is also a trade-off. Delaying from 62 to 70 means forgoing 96 monthly checks of $1,400, which totals $134,400. Once the higher benefit begins, Mark would make up the difference around age 80. That estimate is simplified and does not include inflation, taxes or what he might earn by investing the money earlier. Living longer makes waiting more appealing, but it does not guarantee a better outcome.

Savings, wages and taxes can change the answer

Waiting until 70 means Mark needs another source of income in the meantime. He could keep working, draw from savings or use both. Taking money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) earlier could also reduce the balance that later becomes subject to required withdrawals, though the tax effects need a closer review.

Taxes become part of the calculation once other income is added to benefits. The IRS counts one-half of Social Security benefits plus all other income, including tax-exempt interest. If that combined amount exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 on a joint return, some benefits may become taxable. Delaying a claim may alter how much Mark withdraws from his IRA, but whether that lowers his tax bill depends on his total income.

If Mark keeps working part time before age 67, Social Security will withhold some benefits once his earnings go above $24,480 in 2026. That threshold rises to $25,560 in 2027. Medicare also matters: the standard Part B premium of about $203 a month is usually deducted from the check, so the amount deposited will be less than the gross figure shown by many calculators.

Use AI to compare the choices, then confirm the facts

AI can be useful for testing different scenarios. You can ask it to compare lifetime income at 62, 67 and 70 under different life expectancy assumptions, or to show how each option affects savings withdrawals and taxes. If you are married, it is also worth asking what a surviving spouse would receive, since the higher earner’s delayed benefit can become the survivor benefit.

After that, log in to your my Social Security account. It provides an estimate of your benefit at each age based on your real earnings record. A chatbot can only work with the information you provide.

Claiming early by habit is often the hardest mistake to reverse. Once benefits begin, the reduction lasts for life, and each future inflation adjustment is applied to that smaller base. Waiting until 70 often makes the most sense for people in good health who have savings to bridge the gap and perhaps a spouse who could inherit the larger benefit.

Your health, your marital situation and the size of your savings can all change the answer. Before following any recommendation, whether it comes from a person or a machine, run your own numbers first.