I Planned To Claim Social Security At 62. Here’s Why I Changed My Mind

For a long time, my plan was to claim Social Security at the age of 62. I wanted to start my benefits then because that was the age at which I first became eligible for them.

Like many people, I was worried about Social Security’s trust fund running dry. I also had concerns that benefits were losing buying power over time because cost-of-living adjustments were not fully keeping up with inflation. Starting early seemed like the logical move.

But as I dug deeper into how Social Security actually works, I changed course. Here are the biggest factors that convinced me a delayed claim would be better for me in the long run.

These are the biggest reasons I changed my mind about claiming Social Security

After researching the program more carefully, I decided I’d prefer to wait at least until 67, and probably until 70, to start my monthly checks. Here’s what I found out:

• The threat of Social Security cuts isn’t as dire as it seems: The risk of the trust fund running out was a major concern for me, but the reality is less alarming than the headlines suggest. Social Security can always pay benefits from ongoing payroll tax revenue. According to the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report, released in June 2026, the retirement trust fund (OASI) is projected to be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032, at which point 78% of scheduled benefits would remain payable from current revenue. If the retirement and disability funds are considered together, the combined reserves hold out until 2034, when 83% of benefits would be payable. That’s a cut, not a collapse. And Congress is under enormous political pressure to act before that deadline arrives. In 1983, lawmakers stepped in to prevent an imminent shortfall, and Social Security benefit cuts would be just as unpopular today. More recent legislative changes, including provisions in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” tax law, have already prompted the program’s chief actuary to flag “material effects” on the trust funds, which underscores that Washington is watching these numbers closely.
• Odds of more lifetime income are better if you delay: Studies have repeatedly shown that claiming at 70 maximizes most people’s lifetime benefits. People are simply living longer than they did when the system was designed. The early-filing penalties and delayed retirement credits that were originally meant to equalize lifetime payouts for early and late claimers no longer accomplish that goal for the average retiree. Research has found that a majority of retirees would increase their lifetime wealth by waiting until 70, while fewer than 7% maximize lifetime wealth by claiming before age 64. Waiting also produces a meaningfully larger monthly check: in 2026, the maximum benefit at 70 is $5,181 per month compared to $2,969 at 62, a gap of more than $2,200 per month. Every additional year of delayed retirement credits adds 8% to the benefit, and those credits stop accumulating at 70. I figure, why not play the odds?
• I want to work past 62: Another big factor in my decision is that I enjoy my work and plan to keep doing it well beyond 62. Even if that changes for reasons outside my control, claiming early while still employed creates a real complication. In 2026, anyone who collects Social Security before full retirement age and earns more than $24,480 loses $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above that threshold. For someone with a professional salary, that ceiling is easy to exceed, which means the benefits would effectively be deferred anyway, with none of the upside of a clean delay. The smarter move is simply to wait.

For all of these reasons, waiting longer makes sense for me personally. The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is a reminder that benefits do inch upward over time, and since Social Security is guaranteed to last for life, maximizing the starting base is worth the patience.

Should you wait to claim your Social Security benefits?

Waiting to claim Social Security makes good sense for me, but it won’t be the right choice for everyone. Health status, the ability to keep working, existing savings, and retirement income goals all factor into the equation. A financial advisor can help you think through the tradeoffs and arrive at a claiming age that fits your specific situation.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the 2026 Social Security Trustees Report (released June 9, 2026), which projects the OASI retirement trust fund will be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032 with 78% of benefits payable, moving the depletion date earlier than prior estimates. The 2026 earnings limit of $24,480 for early claimers who continue working and the 2026 COLA of 2.8% have also been added, and the lifetime-benefits statistic has been revised to align with current research.