If You Haven't Met This Milestone, You Probably Shouldn't Claim Social Security
If you are looking forward to the day when you claim Social Security benefits, you're probably already aware that you can start your checks as soon as you hit your 62nd birthday.
While this is considered an early claim and will result in a reduced benefit, that may not matter much to you since Social Security is designed to equalize lifetime benefits for early and late claimers. Someone who begins payments at age 62 receives more checks than someone who delays, but a person who waits to claim can increase their monthly check amount until age 70. They'd get a larger payment each month, even though they'd receive fewer of them.
Before you start your benefits, though, there is a certain milestone you'll likely want to make sure you hit -- and this is a feat you could achieve at different ages, since it depends on when you personally began working and how many years you put in.
Source Fool.com
