3 Great Reasons to Take Social Security at 62
It's popular to take Social Security at the earliest possible time, which for most people is when you turn 62. Many of those who choose to start getting Social Security checks at 62 do so simply because they can and because the money helps make their financial situation more comfortable. When you look more closely at Social Security, the program's complexities make it a lot harder to figure out an ideal time to claim benefits in order to get the most from the program. Many analysts focus on situations in which immediately taking Social Security at 62 is a bad move, urging people to consider waiting. For many people, the following reasons make it not only acceptable but actually smart to look at claiming Social Security as soon as possible.
The best reason to claim Social Security benefits at 62 involves a situation in which one spouse in a married couple has passed away. The surviving spouse then has the option to claim retirement benefits on the survivor's work history or survivor benefits on the deceased spouse's work history. Unlike with other common Social Security situations, a surviving spouse is allowed to choose to take one benefit without taking all applicable benefits at the same time.
As a result, one strategy involves taking your own retirement benefit at 62 while waiting until full retirement age to claim survivor benefits. Doing so results in a reduced payment from your own benefits, but the idea is that when you switch to the survivor benefit, you'll get a bigger monthly check. In this scenario, filing at 62 has the advantage of bringing some money in right away but also helping you maximize the payments you'll receive later.
Source: Fool.com
