Retire at 62 vs 65 Calculator: Compare Your Success Rates

About 30%. If your full retirement age is 67, that's how much Social Security takes off your benefit when you claim at 62, and the cut is permanent. Claim at 65 and the reduction is closer to 13%. A good retire at 62 vs 65 calculator should start there, but it shouldn't stop there. The question you're really asking isn't "which check is bigger?" It's "in which version of my life does the money last?" That question has an answer, and the answer is a probability.

Here's how to frame the comparison, what the usual tables leave out, and how to see both scenarios as success rates.

The short answer: what three years are actually worth

Working from 62 to 65 changes four things at once:

1. A bigger Social Security check, if you also claim later.
2. Three more years of contributions and, if you have one, pension accrual.
3. Three fewer years of withdrawals from your savings.
4. No pre-Medicare gap. Retire at 62 and you pay for your own health insurance until Medicare starts at 65.

Retiring at 62 isn't automatically reckless, and waiting until 65 isn't automatically safe. It comes down to your savings, your spending, and how those four levers play out across many possible markets. Most articles that rank for this search show you a static table. That's a start. It isn't an answer.

What a retire at 62 vs 65 calculator should compare

Here are the main differences side by side:

The reductions come from the standard schedule for anyone born in 1960 or later, whose full retirement age (FRA) is 67: roughly 30% at 62, 25% at 63, 20% at 64, 13.34% at 65 and 6.67% at 66 (Fox6, SmartAsset).

Social Security: a permanent cut

In dollars, Bankrate's example of a $75,000 earner works out to roughly $1,390 a month claiming at 62 versus about $1,726 at 65 (Bankrate). At the top of the scale, the 2026 maximum benefit is $2,969 a month at 62, $4,207 at full retirement age and $5,181 at 70. Each year you wait past FRA adds 8%, up to 24% (Maximize My Social Security).

Your own figures will be different. Check your personal estimate with the Social Security Administration before you plug anything in.

The health insurance gap

This is the line item people underestimate. Before 65, you're buying coverage on your own, usually through the ACA marketplace. Insurers can charge older adults up to three times what younger adults pay. Planner estimates suggest a 62-year-old in a high-cost area without a subsidy could pay $1,200 to $1,800 or more a month for a benchmark Silver plan (Boldin, Retire with Ryan). Those numbers vary a lot by location, so check your exchange's current rates.

Even after 65, health care isn't cheap. Fidelity estimates a 65-year-old retiring in 2025 will spend $172,500 on Medicare premiums, deductibles and prescriptions over retirement, and that figure leaves out long-term care entirely. Source: Fidelity Investments, 2025 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, July 2025.

Three more years of withdrawals, at the riskiest time

This is the part almost nobody models. Retire at 62 and you aren't just adding three years of spending. You're adding them at the very start, when your portfolio is largest and most exposed.

That's sequence-of-returns risk. Two retirees can earn the same average return over 30 years and get completely different outcomes, because one had a bad market in the first few years while withdrawing and the other didn't. Losses early on, while you're selling to pay bills, are hard to recover from. Retiring at 62 lengthens that vulnerable window. A static table can't show it. A simulation can.

Longevity

Planning to 85 feels reasonable until you see the data. Social Security's own guidance says about one in three 65-year-olds may live to at least 90. Source: Social Security Administration, Retirement Information for Medicare Beneficiaries, 2026. Retire at 62 and plan to 95, and your money has to last 33 years.

Retiring at 62 doesn't mean claiming at 62

Most comparisons treat these as one decision. They're two.

You can stop working at 62 and draw from savings while you wait to claim Social Security at 65, 67 or even 70. Depending on your savings, that's often worth modelling, because it trades portfolio dollars now for a larger, inflation-adjusted check for life. It also bears directly on longevity risk, the risk of outliving your money.

A rough break-even, using Bankrate's example

Here's simple arithmetic with the $75,000-earner figures above. It ignores cost-of-living adjustments, taxes and investment returns:

• Claiming at 62 gets you 36 extra checks of about $1,390, roughly $50,000, before 65.
• Waiting gets you about $336 more each month from 65 on.
• $50,000 ÷ $336 is about 149 months, a little over 12 years.

So in this simplified example, waiting until 65 comes out ahead somewhere around age 77. If you live well past that, and a third of 65-year-olds may reach 90, the larger check keeps paying. Your own break-even will be different. The point is that it depends on how long you live, which nobody knows. That's why probability is the right lens.

The earnings test, if you'll work part-time

Planning to claim at 62 and keep a part-time job? In 2026, if you're under full retirement age all year, the earnings limit is $24,480. Above it, Social Security withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn. Only wages and self-employment income count, and withheld amounts come back through higher benefits after FRA (Nasdaq). Nothing is lost for good, but your cash flow from 62 to 67 can look very different from what you expected.

The ACA subsidy cliff

For 2026 the subsidy cliff is back. If your income is above 400% of the federal poverty level, about $62,600 for a single person or $84,600 for a couple, you get no premium tax credit at all (ACA Calc, Mezzi).

Here's the trap. Claiming Social Security at 62 adds income, and that can push you over the line. With full-price premiums for a 62-year-old, the subsidy you lose could be worth more than the benefit you gain (Retire with Ryan). How you fund the years from 62 to 65, and which accounts you draw from, matters as much as the date itself.

Why a probability beats a static table

A typical calculator assumes one average return, say 6% a year, every year. Real markets don't work like that.

Monte Carlo simulation is a plain idea with an intimidating name. Instead of one assumed return, it runs your plan through many possible market paths, good, bad and in between, and counts how many of them leave you with money at the end. If 870 of 1,000 simulated futures stay funded, your success rate is 87%.

That's how serious research frames safe spending. Morningstar puts the safe starting withdrawal rate at 3.9% for a 30-year retirement, judged by whether money is still there in 90% of simulated outcomes rather than by an average return. Source: Morningstar, The State of Retirement Income 2025, December 2025. Notice that "30-year retirement." Retire at 62 and plan to 95, and you need to cover more than that.

For 62 versus 65, a probability shows you what a table can't: how much safer three more years of work actually makes you. Sometimes the difference is huge. Sometimes it's a few points, and you'd rather have the three years.

How to run 62 vs 65 side by side

You don't need a spreadsheet. You need a clear way to set up the comparison.

1. Get your real Social Security estimates for ages 62, 65, 67 and 70.
2. Price your pre-Medicare health insurance on your exchange, at the income you'd actually have.
3. Decide what you'll really spend each month. EBRI's 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey found only 52% of workers have estimated the monthly income they'll need. Source: EBRI/Greenwald Retirement Confidence Survey 2025, Fact Sheet 3. Don't skip this step.
4. Treat retirement date and claiming date as separate inputs. Test at least three versions: retire and claim at 62, retire at 62 and claim later, retire and claim at 65.
5. Compare success rates, not ending balances.

The Monte Climb retirement calculator starts with three numbers: your age, what you've saved, and what you spend each month. It runs them through 1,000 simulated futures and gives you a success rate. It runs in your browser, and nothing is saved until you say so. Plans run to age 95 by default, and you can push them further. The engine charges Medicare premiums and income-based surcharges year by year instead of using a flat guess.

Then ask William, our AI planner, the question you came here with: "Can I retire at 62?" Ask him how 65 compares. Talk to him like you would a friend.

If you're a couple

Two people means two retirement dates, two claiming dates, and two lifespans to plan for. Run the household version, not just your own. If one of you wants 62 and the other wants 65, comparing your odds side by side is a calmer way to settle it than arguing over a table.

The bottom line

Retiring at 62 costs you a permanently smaller Social Security check if you claim early, three years of self-funded health insurance, and three more years of withdrawals during the riskiest stretch. Retiring at 65 costs you three years of your life. Neither choice is right for everyone. What matters is the odds for your own numbers.

Monte Climb is planning software, not advice. What you get is a probability, not a promise. It's still a much better basis for this decision than a guess.

Three numbers. One clear answer. Show my answer →

Retire at 62 or 65: which is better?

Neither age wins for everyone. The better choice is the one where your plan still holds up across a wide range of markets, and that depends on a few things specific to you.

Signs that 62 may hold up:

• Your savings can cover about 33 years of withdrawals (to age 95) at your planned spending, not just 30.
• You have a realistic budget for about three years of buying your own health insurance before Medicare.
• You can retire at 62 and still delay Social Security, so you don't lock in the permanent cut of about 30%.
• Your spending has room to drop if markets fall early in retirement.

Signs that 65 may be the safer fit:

• Your success rate at 62 falls a long way below your success rate at 65 when you model both.
• Pre-Medicare premiums would take up a large share of your early withdrawals.
• Three more years of contributions and three fewer years of withdrawals change your outcome a lot.
• You would need to claim Social Security at 62 to pay the bills.

Ages 63 and 64 are options too. The reduction schedule moves in steps of roughly 25% at 63 and 20% at 64, so a middle date can close much of the gap. Running 62, 63, 64 and 65 as separate scenarios in Monte Climb shows how much each extra year changes your probability of the money lasting. That's the difference between a guess and a decision you can check.

Frequently asked questions

How much less Social Security do you get at 62 than at 65?

If your full retirement age is 67 (anyone born in 1960 or later), claiming at 62 permanently cuts your benefit by about 30%. At 65 the cut is about 13.34%. In Bankrate's example of a $75,000 earner, that's roughly $1,390 a month at 62 versus about $1,726 at 65.

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

Yes. Retiring and claiming are two separate decisions. You can stop working at 62 and live on savings while you delay Social Security to 65, 67 or 70. Each year you wait past full retirement age adds 8%, up to 24%. Whether your savings can cover the gap is worth testing with a Monte Carlo simulation.

How do I pay for health insurance between 62 and 65?

Most early retirees buy coverage on the ACA marketplace. For 2026 the subsidy cliff is back: above 400% of the federal poverty level (about $62,600 single or $84,600 for a couple), you get no premium tax credit. Claiming Social Security at 62 can push your income over that line, so plan your income sources carefully.

What is the Social Security earnings limit if I claim at 62 and keep working?

In 2026, if you're under full retirement age all year, the limit is $24,480. Above it, $1 of benefits is withheld for every $2 you earn. Only wages and self-employment income count, and withheld amounts come back through higher benefits after full retirement age.

Why use a Monte Carlo calculator instead of a regular retirement calculator?

A regular calculator assumes one average return every year. A Monte Carlo calculator runs your plan through many possible market paths and reports how many of them stay funded. That captures sequence-of-returns risk, which matters more if you retire at 62 and add three years of withdrawals at the start.