Chapter 8: Claiming at 62
The worksheets from Chapter 8 of Fifty-Five. Type your own numbers, or try an example from the book to see how each one works.
Your benefit if you claim early
Your monthly Social Security benefit at any age between 62 and your full retirement age.
The formula: For each of the first 36 months you are early, the reduction is 5/9 of 1%. For each month beyond 36, it is 5/12 of 1%. Add them up to get your total reduction. Full-retirement-age benefit × (1 − total reduction) = Your early benefit
The calculator needs JavaScript. The paper worksheet below does not: it is the same arithmetic, written out.
The paper worksheet
Months early, up to 36 ______ × 5/9 = ______%
Months early beyond 36 ______ × 5/12 = ______%
Total reduction ______% + ______% = ______%
Benefit at full retirement age $__________ × (1 − total reduction) = Your early benefit $__________
Walk through it, step by step
- Find your full retirement age in the table at the start of the chapter.
- Count the months between the age you plan to claim and your full retirement age. Years times 12, plus any extra months.
- If that is 36 or fewer, multiply it by 5/9 (on a calculator: × 5 ÷ 9). Skip to Step 6.
- If it is more than 36, multiply 36 by 5/9. That is always 20%.
- Subtract 36 from your months early. Multiply what is left by 5/12 (× 5 ÷ 12). Add it to the 20%.
- Subtract your total reduction from 100%. Write it as a decimal: 70% is 0.70, 77.5% is 0.775.
- Multiply your full-retirement-age benefit from your Social Security statement by that decimal. That is your estimated monthly benefit.
Check your answer
- If you were born in 1960 or later and claim at exactly 62, your answer must be 70% of your full benefit. If it is not, recount your months: it should be 60.
- Your early benefit must always be smaller than your full-retirement-age benefit. If it is bigger, you added the reduction instead of subtracting it.
- Your Social Security statement shows estimates at several ages. Your answer should be close to the one for your claiming age.
- The most common totals: 12 months early is 6.67%, 24 months is 13.33%, 36 months is 20.00%, 48 months is 25.00%, 60 months is 30.00%.
Figures this worksheet uses, and where they come from: Reduction for claiming early: 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months, 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond 36 (SSA, Starting Your Retirement Benefits Early); Full retirement age of 67 for people born in 1960 or later, and 62 as the earliest claiming age (SSA, Starting Your Retirement Benefits Early).