Claiming Social Security isn't something you should do on a whim. The program will, ideally, pay you a monthly benefit for the rest of your life. So it's important to sign up at the right time, since your filing age will help dictate how much monthly income Social Security gives you.

This isn't to say that your filing age will be the only factor in that equation. Your lifetime earnings will also play a big role.

But you're not entitled to your full monthly Social Security benefit, based on your personal wage history, until you reach full retirement age (FRA). And if you don't know what that number is, you're not in a good position to claim Social Security at all.

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Source Fool.com