Deciding when to claim Social Security is one of the biggest money decisions you'll ever make, and it lands hardest when a family is already paying for care. The claiming-age math is only half the story. The other half is what those numbers mean when a spouse is in memory care, a parent might need Medicaid, or you're a widow choosing which check to take first.

In This Guide

When to Claim Social Security: 62 vs. 67 vs. 70

The tradeoff is simple: the longer you wait to claim Social Security, up to age 70, the larger your monthly check, but the fewer years you'll collect it.

Claim at 62, the earliest age you can, and with a full retirement age of 67 your benefit is reduced by 30 percent for life., Wait past your full retirement age and it grows by about 8 percent for each year you delay, until it stops growing at 70. So the same worker's benefit runs from roughly 70 percent of the full amount at 62 to about 124 percent at 70. That spread is the whole decision.

The general advice you'll read is to wait as long as you can, and for a healthy person with other income, that's usually sound. But "as long as you can" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. For a family stretched by care costs, the right answer often looks different, and the reasons why are the rest of this guide.

What's Your Full Retirement Age?

Every figure above is measured from your full retirement age, the age at which you get 100 percent of your benefit. For anyone born on or after January 2, 1960, that age is 67. Survivor benefits run on a separate full-retirement-age table, so a widow or widower born between January 2, 1960 and January 1, 1962 reaches it at 66 and 8 or 10 months, not 67. If you were born before January 2, 1960, look up your own full retirement age on Social Security's chart.

Full retirement age matters because it's the pivot. Claim before it and your benefit is reduced. Claim after it and you earn credits. Knowing yours is the first thing to look up before you decide anything else.

Claiming Early at 62

If you claim at 62 with a full retirement age of 67, your monthly benefit is cut by 30 percent, and that cut lasts for life. It doesn't reset when you reach full retirement age. The one adjustment then is narrow: Social Security automatically drops out of the reduction any months your benefit was withheld under the earnings test, or months you were entitled to disability benefits, and leaves the rest of the cut in place. A benefit that would have been $2,000 at 67 becomes roughly $1,400 for the rest of your life.

That's the cost, stated plainly. It's a real cost, and it's why claiming early gets a bad reputation. But a smaller check you start collecting at 62 is not automatically worse than a larger one you start at 70, because you collect the smaller one for eight more years. Which one wins depends entirely on how long you live and what you need the money for now.

Waiting Until 70

Delaying past full retirement age earns you delayed retirement credits, worth 8 percent a year for anyone born after January 1, 1943. Wait the full three years from 67 to 70 and your benefit is about 24 percent larger, for life.

There's no bonus for waiting past 70, so 70 is the ceiling. The case for waiting is strongest if you're in good health, expect a long retirement, and have other income to live on in the meantime. The "break-even" age, where the larger delayed check catches up to the total you'd have collected by claiming earlier, depends on your own benefit amounts and the ages you're comparing. Live past it and waiting pays off. That's a real bet on your own longevity, and it's a reasonable one for many people. It just isn't the right bet for everyone.

When Claiming Early Is the Right Call

Claiming early can be exactly the right call in several common situations:

  • Your health is poor or your family history is short. If you don't expect to reach your break-even age, the larger delayed benefit never pays off. Taking the smaller check sooner means more total dollars in your pocket.
  • You need the money now. If you've stopped working, savings are thin, and the bills are due, a check at 62 you can actually live on beats a bigger one at 70 you can't wait for. Claiming early to avoid draining retirement accounts or running up debt is a legitimate choice, not a mistake.
  • You're funding a spouse's care. When one spouse is in assisted living or memory care, the household may need income immediately. Sometimes the right move is for the lower earner to claim early for cash flow while the higher earner delays. Delayed retirement credits on the higher earner's record also raise the benefit a surviving spouse would receive, something they do for no other family member.

None of these is the "wait until 70" default. All of them are common in families dealing with care.

The Medicaid Trap

This interaction can quietly undo an otherwise smart claiming plan, and it catches families off guard.

Social Security is counted as income when Medicaid decides whether someone qualifies for long-term care. Federal rules make the SSI program's income methodology the default for older adults on Medicaid, though a state may count income less restrictively and some states use stricter rules, so how your own state counts it matters. Under SSI's rules, Social Security benefits are unearned income.

In "income-cap" states, which cover nursing home care through a special income level group rather than a medically needy (spend-down) pathway, long-term-care Medicaid has a firm income limit. A larger Social Security benefit raises your countable income. So the same delayed-retirement strategy that maximizes your check can push you or your spouse over that limit just when care costs are highest: CareScout's 2025 survey puts the national median for a semi-private nursing home room at $315 a day.

In those states, the tool built for this is a qualified income trust, often called a Miller trust. Federal law lets it hold only pension, Social Security and other income, and the state gets back whatever is left at death, up to what Medicaid paid; in a state with a medically needy pathway for nursing home care, a Miller trust is not the route. It's another moving part, and it's the reason the claiming decision and the Medicaid question have to be answered together, not one after the other. If Medicaid is anywhere on your horizon, read how Medicaid income limits work by state before you lock in a claiming age, and talk to someone who does both kinds of planning.

Benefits for Spouses and Ex-Spouses

Social Security isn't only about your own work record. A spouse can claim a benefit of up to 50 percent of the higher earner's primary insurance amount, which is what that worker would get at full retirement age. The 50 percent is the ceiling, paid if the spouse waits until their own full retirement age. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming the spousal benefit at 62 cuts it by 35 percent, to 32.5 percent of the worker's primary insurance amount. If you're also entitled to your own retirement benefit, the spousal benefit is reduced by that amount, so you end up with the higher of the two, not both added together. Filing for either one generally counts as filing for the other, though Social Security says that rule does not apply if you receive a spouse's benefit and are entitled to disability, or receive it because you are caring for the retired worker's child.

Divorced spouses have rights here too, and they're widely misunderstood. The two conditions everyone quotes are the marriage length and being unmarried, but the regulation sets six, and all of them have to be true at once: you were validly married to your ex under state law or deemed validly married, the marriage lasted at least 10 years immediately before the divorce became final, you apply, you are not currently married, you are 62 or older throughout a month in which every other condition is met, and you are not entitled to a retirement or disability benefit based on a primary insurance amount equal to or larger than the full spousal benefit. Social Security applies the 10-year test a little more generously than that wording: a marriage interrupted by a divorce can still count if you remarried each other no later than the calendar year after that divorce. That last one is the trap. It compares your own primary insurance amount, which is what your record would pay you at your full retirement age, against the full spousal benefit, which is one-half your ex's primary insurance amount. It is not a comparison with the check you actually receive, so claiming early and taking a reduction does not get you under the bar. If your ex hasn't filed yet, you can still claim on their record, provided they're at least 62 and you've been divorced at least two years. The not-currently-married condition is about becoming entitled; remarrying after you already collect on an ex's record is governed by a separate rule, 20 CFR 404.332(b)(3), which carries an exception for marriage to someone who is themselves entitled to benefits as a wife, husband, widow, widower, father, mother, parent or disabled child. Your claim does not reduce what your ex or their current spouse receives: the family-maximum regulation says a divorced spouse's benefits "will not be reduced pursuant to this section," and everyone else on the record is figured "as if no such divorced spouse or surviving divorced spouse were entitled to benefits." For an older divorced woman who spent years out of the workforce, this is the rule worth checking first. Our full guide to Social Security spousal benefits covers the amounts, the remarriage rules, the deemed-filing rule that limits switching between benefits, and the divorced-spouse details.

Survivor Benefits and the Switch

When a spouse dies, the survivor benefit is figured from the deceased worker's primary insurance amount, not from the check the worker was actually getting, which differs whenever the worker claimed early or late. Start it at 60 and payments begin at 71.5 percent, increasing the longer you wait, up to 100 percent at your survivor full retirement age. Two things the worker did change that: if the worker claimed early, the survivor benefit is held to the larger of what the worker would be receiving if alive or 82.5 percent of the worker's primary insurance amount, and if the worker earned delayed retirement credits, they raise it.,

One rule flips the usual advice here: a survivor benefit tops out at 100 percent at survivor full retirement age, because delayed retirement credits build only on a worker's own retirement benefit. Waiting past your survivor full retirement age gains you nothing., So for a widow or widower, the question is usually not how long to wait, but how to sequence. The deemed-filing rule does not apply to survivor benefits, so you can claim the survivor benefit early while letting your own retirement benefit keep growing to 70, then switch to your own increased check. The switch only pays if your own benefit at 70 would be the larger of the two. Our full guide to Social Security survivor benefits walks through the reduction schedule and the switch strategy in detail.

Will Your Benefits Be Taxed?

Many people are surprised to learn their Social Security is taxed at all. Up to 85 percent of your benefits can be subject to federal income tax, though only once half of your benefits plus your modified adjusted gross income, a tax measure that starts from adjusted gross income and adds back items such as tax-exempt interest, passes a base amount that depends on your filing status. For most filers, below that amount none of it is taxed. The exception is a married person who files separately and lived with their spouse at any time during the year: that filer's thresholds are zero, so there is no tax-free cushion at all. Our guide to whether Social Security is taxable walks through the combined-income formula, the thresholds, and the extra federal deduction of up to $6,000 per eligible person 65 or older in tax years 2025 through 2028. A married person has to file a joint return to claim that deduction, and it comes with a Social Security number requirement and an income phase-out that the guide spells out. It can lower the federal tax you owe on benefits without changing how much of them is taxable.

One thing worth knowing: those income thresholds are set in the statute and aren't indexed for inflation or wage growth. State income tax is a separate question. How your state treats retirement income is covered in our guide to retirement income tax by state.

How and When to Claim Social Security

You apply through the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov. One timing note trips people up more than any other: signing up for Medicare is a separate step tied to age 65, not to when you claim Social Security, and you can take Medicare at 65 while leaving your Social Security unclaimed. If you're getting Social Security benefits at least four months before you turn 65, you're enrolled in Parts A and B automatically. If you're waiting until 65 or later to collect, nothing happens automatically, and you have to sign up through Social Security yourself. Miss your Initial Enrollment Period without qualifying for a Special Enrollment Period or a Medicare Savings Program, and your Part B premium goes up 10 percent for each full 12 months you could have had Part B but didn't, for as long as you have it. If you're still working and covered by an employer group health plan, you can delay Part B.

If you plan to keep working while collecting benefits before your full retirement age, know how the annual earnings test works. In a year you're under full retirement age the whole time, Social Security withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above an annual limit ($24,480 in 2026). In the year you reach full retirement age, it withholds $1 for every $3 above a higher limit ($65,160 in 2026), counting only earnings before the month you reach it. From that month on, there's no limit and nothing is withheld. Only wages and self-employment earnings count, not pensions or investment income. What's held back isn't lost, either. At full retirement age Social Security recalculates your benefit to credit the months it withheld, so working early delays some of the benefit rather than forfeiting it.

If any of this feels like more than you should have to sort out while also arranging care for someone you love, that's a fair reaction. It's a lot, and the pieces genuinely interact.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best age to claim Social Security?

There's no single best age. Waiting until 70 gives the largest monthly check, because delayed retirement credits stop at 70, and it pays off if you live past your break-even age and can afford to wait. Claiming at 62 can be the better choice if your health is poor, you need the income now, or you're covering a spouse's care. The right answer depends on your health, your cash needs, and whether Medicaid is in the picture.

Does claiming Social Security affect Medicaid eligibility?

Yes. Social Security counts as unearned income under the SSI rules Medicaid applies by default for long-term-care eligibility, so a larger benefit raises your countable income., In an income-cap state, claiming more can put you over the income limit for nursing home Medicaid. This is why the claiming decision and Medicaid planning should be handled together. For the full picture, see our guide to how Social Security affects Medicaid eligibility.

Can I claim on my ex-spouse's record?

Only if you meet all six of the regulation's conditions, not the two that usually get quoted. You must have been validly married to your ex under state law or deemed validly married, the marriage must have lasted at least 10 years immediately before the divorce became final (a divorce from the same person can be bridged if you remarried by the end of the next calendar year), you must apply, you must not be currently married, you must be 62 or older, and your own primary insurance amount must be below the full spousal benefit. If you've been divorced at least two years, you can claim even if your ex hasn't filed, as long as they're 62 or older. Remarrying after you are already entitled is a separate question from remarrying before you claim, and it has its own exceptions, so read our spousal benefits guide before you decide. Your claim does not reduce what your ex or their current spouse receives, because a divorced spouse sits outside the family maximum.

Do survivor benefits grow if I wait?

No. A survivor benefit tops out at 100 percent at survivor full retirement age, and delayed retirement credits build only on a worker's own retirement benefit., That's why sequencing, taking the survivor benefit first and switching to your own retirement benefit later, is the strategy to look at instead.

Learn More

FinancialHow to Pay for Senior CareHow to pay for senior care: what it costs nationally and how Medicaid, Medicare, VA benefits, and private pay each fit. Who qualifies, what's covered, in 2026. FinancialBuilding a Senior Care Funding PlanA step-by-step plan to pay for senior care: estimate the cost, inventory income and assets, find the payers you qualify for, sequence them, and get help. FinancialUsing Retirement Accounts to Pay for CareHow to use a retirement account to pay for senior care: the tax on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, the early-penalty exceptions, RMDs at 73, and the tax-spike trap. FinancialHow Retirement Income Is Taxed by StateNine states tax no retirement income, and four more exempt qualifying retirement plan withdrawals. See how every state taxes Social Security, pensions and IRAs.

Find personalized help deciding when to claim Social Security around your family's care costs at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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