How to Retire at 62 on Social Security (and What It Costs)

30%. If you were born in 1960 or later, that's how much smaller your Social Security check gets, for life, when you claim at 62 instead of waiting until your full retirement age of 67. A $1,000 benefit becomes $700. If you're working out how to retire at 62 on Social Security, that cut is the first number to deal with. It isn't the only one. Health insurance before Medicare, the earnings limit, and how long you might live all change the answer.

Here's the short version, then the parts most guides leave out.

The short answer: how to retire at 62 on Social Security

You can do it if four things hold:

1. You're eligible. That generally means about 10 years of work, or 40 credits.
2. You can live on 70% of your full benefit. For anyone whose full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full amount. The cut doesn't go away when you turn 67 (Quartz).
3. Your savings cover the gap between that smaller check and what you actually spend, for possibly 30 years or more.
4. You have a plan for health insurance from 62 until Medicare starts at 65.

One more thing to know up front. Retiring and claiming are two separate decisions. You can stop working at 62 and still wait to claim. More on that below.

What claiming at 62 actually pays

Here's a hypothetical worker whose benefit at full retirement age would be $2,000 a month.

That's a $600 difference every month. Cost-of-living raises are a percentage of your benefit, so they're applied to the smaller base too. For 2026 the adjustment is 2.8%. SSA estimates the average retired worker's benefit goes from $2,015 to $2,071 a month. That figure is an average for people already collecting, not a promise for you (SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet).

For your own figure, use your my Social Security account. Averages won't tell you much.

Retiring at 62 and claiming at 62 are different choices

A lot of people treat these as one decision. They aren't.

You could stop working at 62, live on savings for a few years, and claim later for a bigger check. The Motley Fool lays out that approach. It's a trade. You draw down your portfolio faster early on in exchange for a permanently larger, inflation-adjusted income later.

Which is better? It depends on your savings, your health, and whether you're married. There's no single right answer. There's the answer that holds up best in your numbers.

If you keep working: the 2026 earnings test

Plenty of people claim at 62 and keep working part-time. That's fine, but there's a limit.

• Under full retirement age all year: the 2026 limit is $24,480 ($2,040 a month). SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above it.
• In the year you reach full retirement age: the limit rises to $65,160. SSA withholds $1 for every $3 above it, counting only earnings in the months before you reach full retirement age.
• At full retirement age: the test stops.

Source: SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet.

A quick example. You're 63, claiming, and earn $34,480 in 2026. That's $10,000 over the limit, so SSA withholds $5,000 in benefits.

What most guides skip: the withheld money isn't gone for good. Once you reach full retirement age, SSA recalculates your monthly benefit to credit you for the months it held back. It's a timing problem more than a loss. It still matters if you were counting on that cash at 63 (CNBC).

The gap almost nobody connects: Social Security and the ACA subsidy cliff

Medicare starts at 65. If you retire at 62, you need three years of coverage first, and for many people that means the ACA marketplace.

This is where claiming early can backfire in 2026.

The cliff is back. Enhanced ACA subsidies ended after 2025. Now, if your household income goes even $1 over 400% of the federal poverty level, you lose all premium tax credits. Based on 2025 guidelines, that line is roughly $62,600 for one person and $84,600 for a couple (Q3 Advisors, CNBC).

Social Security counts toward that income. For ACA purposes, the income figure (modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI) includes your Social Security benefits, including the part that isn't taxed. Check the details with HealthCare.gov or a tax professional before you rely on them.

Here's how it can play out. A single 62-year-old claims $1,400 a month, which is $16,800 a year. They also take $48,000 from a traditional IRA. Total: $64,800. That's over the cliff, and the whole subsidy is gone.

That's a real cost. Boldin, citing KFF, reports that average premiums more than doubled for marketplace enrollees who lost the enhanced credits (Boldin).

Health care costs don't stop at 65, either. Fidelity's 2025 estimate puts lifetime health care for a 65-year-old at $172,500 in Medicare premiums, deductibles, and prescriptions, and that leaves out long-term care (Fidelity Investments, 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, July 2025). It's a line item, not a rounding error.

Married? Your claim is also your spouse's safety net

If you're the higher earner, claiming at 62 doesn't only shrink your check. It can also shrink what your spouse gets if you die first, because survivor benefits are tied to what you were receiving.

So the question changes from "how long will I live?" to "how long will the longer-lived of us live?" For couples, that's usually a longer horizon. The top-ranking guides barely mention it, and it can matter more than anything else on this page.

Longevity: a 30% cut lasts as long as you do

A smaller check matters less if you die at 75. It matters a lot if you live to 95.

According to Social Security's own planning guidance, about one in three 65-year-olds may live to at least 90 (Social Security Administration, Retirement Information for Medicare Beneficiaries, 2026). A plan that stops at 85 is quietly betting against a third of retirees.

This is the logic behind the "break-even age" comparisons you'll see elsewhere (FinanceBuzz). Claim early and you collect more checks. Claim later and you collect bigger ones. Live past the break-even point and waiting usually comes out ahead. You don't get to know in advance which side you'll land on. That's why it helps to plan for a long life.

How much savings do you need alongside it?

Start with the gap: your monthly spending minus your Social Security check.

Morningstar's 2025 research puts the safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9%. That's the rate at which money was still there in 90% of simulated futures over a 30-year retirement (Morningstar, The State of Retirement Income 2025, December 2025).

As a rough illustration: every $1,000 a month of gap is $12,000 a year. At a 3.9% withdrawal rate, covering that takes about $307,700 at the start.

Two caveats:

• From 62 to 95 is 33 years, longer than Morningstar's 30-year window. A longer retirement generally calls for a more cautious rate.
• Health insurance before 65, taxes, and the ACA cliff all change your real gap.

If you've never actually worked out your monthly number, you're in good company. EBRI's 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey found 48% of workers have never estimated what they'll need each month in retirement (EBRI/Greenwald, Retirement Confidence Survey 2025, Fact Sheet 3). That estimate is where all of this starts.

A quick checklist before you claim at 62

Go through these honestly:

• Health: Do you have health problems, or a family history, that point to a shorter life? Claiming early makes more sense if so.
• Marriage: Are you the higher earner? If so, remember the survivor benefit.
• Work: Will you earn more than $24,480 in 2026 before full retirement age? If so, the earnings test applies.
• Health insurance: Does your Social Security plus withdrawals push you over the ACA cliff?
• Savings: Can your portfolio cover the gap at a cautious withdrawal rate, out to your mid-90s?
• Bridge option: Could you live on savings from 62 and claim later for a bigger check?

If most of your answers point the same way, you have your answer. If they're mixed, the trade-offs need numbers, not gut feel.

Run your own numbers

Every figure above is either an average or a hypothetical. Your answer depends on your savings, your spending, and how many years that money has to last.

That's the question a Monte Carlo test answers. It runs your plan through many possible futures, good markets and bad, instead of assuming one average return. Monte Climb runs your age, savings, and monthly spending through 1,000 simulated futures and tells you the share that stay funded. Plans run to age 95 by default, and you can extend them. Treat the result as a probability, not a promise.

Want to dig in? Ask William, our AI planner, "Retire at 62?" He'll show his work. It all runs in your browser, and nothing is saved until you say so. Planning software, not advice.

Three numbers. One clear answer. Show my answer →

Frequently asked questions

How much less Social Security do you get if you retire at 62?

If your full retirement age is 67, which applies to anyone born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full benefit. That's a permanent 30% cut, so a $1,000 benefit at 67 becomes $700 at 62.

Can I work part-time while collecting Social Security at 62?

Yes, but in 2026 SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 if you're under full retirement age all year. In the year you reach full retirement age, the limit rises to $65,160, with $1 withheld for every $3 over it. Withheld benefits aren't lost for good. SSA recalculates your benefit at full retirement age to credit them back.

Can I retire at 62 and wait to claim Social Security?

Yes. Retiring and claiming are separate decisions. You can stop working at 62, live on savings, and claim later for a permanently larger check. The trade-off is drawing down your portfolio faster in the early years.

Does Social Security affect ACA health insurance subsidies before Medicare?

It can. For ACA purposes, income includes Social Security benefits, including the untaxed portion. With enhanced subsidies gone after 2025, going over 400% of the poverty level (roughly $62,600 for one person or $84,600 for a couple, based on 2025 guidelines) means losing all premium tax credits. Confirm the details with HealthCare.gov or a tax professional.

How do I know if I can afford to retire at 62?

Compare your monthly spending with your Social Security check, then check whether your savings can cover the gap out to your mid-90s at a cautious withdrawal rate. A Monte Carlo simulation, like the 1,000-future test Monte Climb runs, shows the probability that your money lasts instead of a single average-return projection.