When it comes to signing up for Social Security, you have choices. You're allowed to file for benefits as early as age 62. But you're not entitled to your complete monthly benefit based on your personal wage history until full retirement age (FRA) arrives. That age is 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on when you were born.

If you claim Social Security ahead of FRA, you'll face a permanently reduced monthly benefit that could leave you to struggle financially as a retiree. On the other hand, if you delay your Social Security filing past FRA, you'll boost your monthly benefit substantially. In fact, for each year you hold off beyond FRA, up until age 70, that monthly benefit gets a permanent 8% increase.

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Source Fool.com