You Should Plan on Claiming Social Security at 62 -- Even If You Don't End Up Doing It
Many seniors spend years going back and forth on Social Security -- specifically, trying to decide when to claim it. Signing up for benefits at 62 is appealing because it's the earliest age to file, but if you go that route, you'll slash your monthly benefit substantially.
On the other hand, if you wait until full retirement age (FRA) to sign up, you won't face a reduction in benefits at all. Rather, you'll get the full monthly benefit you're entitled to based on your earnings history. FRA is either 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on your year of birth.
There's also the option to delay benefits past FRA. For each year you do, they'll go up by 8%, up until you turn 70, at which point you can't grow your benefits anymore.
Source Fool.com
