You can start Social Security retirement benefits as early as 62 or as late as 70. Claiming before your full retirement age permanently reduces the monthly benefit, and waiting past it permanently increases the benefit by 8% for each year you delay, up to 70. The best age usually depends on your health and family longevity, whether you are married, what other income you have to live on in the meantime, and how the choice fits your tax plan.
What is full retirement age?
Full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which you receive your full, unreduced benefit, called your primary insurance amount. For anyone born in 1960 or later, it is 67. For people born from 1955 through 1959, it falls between 66 and 67, set by birth year (Social Security Administration).
How much does the claiming age change the benefit?
For someone with an FRA of 67, the Social Security Administration's rules work out roughly like this:
About 70% of the full benefit
The earliest age to claim. The reduction is permanent.
100% of the full benefit
Full retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later.
About 124% of the full benefit
Delayed retirement credits of 8% a year stop at 70, so there is no benefit to waiting longer.
All of these amounts then rise with the annual cost-of-living adjustment, which was 2.8% for benefits paid in 2026 (Social Security Administration, October 2025).
The claiming decision is permanent. It also outlives you, if you are married.
Why does marriage change the answer?
Spousal benefits. A spouse can receive up to 50% of the other spouse's full benefit, if that is more than their own. Spousal benefits do not grow past the spouse's own FRA, so delaying a spousal claim past FRA adds nothing.
Survivor benefits. When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two benefits, including any delayed retirement credits the deceased spouse earned. So when the higher earner waits until 70, the larger check can last as long as either spouse is alive. For many couples, that is the strongest argument for the higher earner to delay.
What if you keep working?
If you claim before FRA and still earn wages, the earnings test can withhold part of your benefit. In 2026, $1 is withheld for every $2 earned above $24,480, and in the year you reach FRA, $1 for every $3 above $65,160 until the month you reach it (Social Security Administration, October 2025). Withheld benefits are not lost. Your benefit is recalculated at FRA to credit them back over time. After FRA, there is no earnings test.
How are benefits taxed?
Federally, up to 85% of your benefit can be taxable, depending on your "provisional income": your other income, plus tax-exempt interest, plus half your benefit. The thresholds that decide this have not been indexed for inflation since they were set, so more retirees pay tax on benefits each year.
For 2025 through 2028, the July 2025 federal tax law also adds a deduction of up to $6,000 for each taxpayer 65 or older, or $12,000 for a married couple who both qualify and file jointly. It phases out as modified adjusted gross income rises above $75,000 for single filers and $150,000 for joint filers (IRS, February 2026). It does not depend on when you claim, but it changes the tax math for those years.
Utah taxes Social Security benefits as income but offers a credit that phases out as income rises. For 2026, the credit equals the Utah rate of 4.45% times the benefits included in Utah taxable income. It shrinks by 2.5 cents for each dollar of modified adjusted gross income above $54,000 for single filers and $90,000 for joint filers (Utah Code section 59-10-1042, current as of October 2026).
What usually decides the answer?
- Health and longevity. The longer you, or your surviving spouse, live, the more delaying tends to pay.
- The money to bridge the gap. Delaying means living on savings or other income in your sixties. That is easier with a pension, a working spouse or a solid taxable account.
- The tax plan. The years before benefits start can be good years for Roth conversions or drawing from pre-tax accounts at low rates. Claiming early fills those years with benefit income.
- Medicare premiums. Part B premiums are usually deducted from your benefit once you claim, and higher income raises them.
- Your own peace of mind. Some people value a guaranteed check sooner. That is a real consideration, and a plan can account for it.
A hypothetical example
Hypothetical. A married Utah couple, both 62, are retiring. One spouse's full benefit is much larger than the other's. They consider two options. In the first, both claim at 62. In the second, the lower earner claims at 62, the higher earner waits until 70, and they live partly on IRA withdrawals in between, using those years to convert some of the IRA to Roth. The second option produces less income in their sixties. It produces a larger check later, a larger survivor benefit for whichever spouse lives longer, and smaller required distributions. Which is better depends on their health, their savings and their comfort with drawing down accounts first.
Social Security is often the largest income source in a retirement plan, and the claiming age is one of the few parts of it you control. Our retirement planning page describes how we model it alongside withdrawals, taxes and Medicare, year by year.
Educational only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice. Every situation is different; the right answer depends on the numbers, and that's what the strategy session is for. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal.