Three Situations in Which Filing for Social Security at 62 May Make Sense

There is a good reason many retirees are advised to wait before starting Social Security instead of filing at the earliest age of 62. If you hold off until full retirement age, which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later, you can receive your monthly benefit without any reduction.

Waiting even longer can pay off too. For each year you delay benefits beyond full retirement age, your monthly payment grows by 8% for life, up to age 70. That means your check could end up as much as 24% larger than your full retirement age benefit.

Still, claiming at 62 is not automatically a mistake. In some cases, filing early may be the right call, and you may be glad you did.

1. You want to enjoy retirement while your health is still strong

After decades of working and saving, you may be eager to use retirement time for travel, family visits, and other experiences. The downside is that waiting until 67 or 70 to start Social Security could delay some of those plans.

Although postponing benefits can increase your monthly income, there is no guarantee you will have the same health, energy, or interest in traveling later as you do now. Claiming early can provide extra income that helps support the retirement lifestyle you want while you can still fully enjoy it.

Of course, taking benefits early has a cost. Lower monthly checks can affect your finances for many years. But if you have solid savings and a realistic budget, choosing experiences over a bigger future benefit may be a decision you value long after the fact.

2. You are worried about your health

Delaying Social Security often makes sense because larger monthly payments can lead to a bigger lifetime benefit. But that approach only works out if you live long enough to collect those extra checks.

If you have a serious medical condition or believe your life expectancy may be below average, waiting may not make up for the benefits you give up. Filing at 62 can let you access income sooner, when you may need it most.

It is impossible to know exactly how long any one person will live, and a health problem does not always mean a shorter retirement. Some people live many years with significant medical issues. Even so, if you have reason to think you may not have a long retirement, an early claim could put more total income in your pocket despite the smaller monthly amount.

3. You are eager to leave a job you cannot stand

Sometimes the decision to claim Social Security early has nothing to do with travel or health. It is about getting out of a job that has become unbearable.

Maybe the work is physically draining, the stress is too much, or you simply cannot face several more years in a role that leaves you miserable or reporting to a boss who is impossible to please. If you are 62 and financially ready to retire, Social Security may help you leave the workforce sooner.

It is one thing to endure an unpleasant job early in your career when you are paying your dues. In your 40s or 50s, you may feel stuck and have little choice. But by your early 60s, if you have saved carefully and can live with smaller Social Security checks, you may have earned the freedom to walk away.

Claiming Social Security at 62 does come with trade-offs. Even so, it is not a decision you are guaranteed to regret. If your priorities are traveling while healthy, managing a shorter expected retirement, or escaping a bad work situation, filing early may fit your needs better than waiting for a larger benefit later.