Choosing a Retirement Date: 62 vs 65 vs 67 Trade-Offs

There is no single "right" age to stop working. What the law does is attach different rules to different ages. This guide sets out the federal rules around 62, 65, 67 and 70 so you can see what each date changes. It is general education, not personal advice. A fee-only planner or a Social Security representative can look at your own numbers.

What changes at each age?

Sources: SSA Retirement Benefits 2026 booklet and normal retirement age table.

What is your full retirement age?

Full retirement age is the age at which you get 100 percent of the benefit calculated from your earnings record. SSA's table lists it by birth year:

SSA adds that people born on January 1 should use the previous year's row. This guide uses 67 in its examples, so adjust if you were born earlier.

How much is Social Security reduced if you claim early?

SSA's early or late retirement page gives the formula. A benefit is reduced 5/9 of one percent for each month before full retirement age, up to 36 months. For months beyond 36, it is reduced a further 5/12 of one percent per month. For someone with a full retirement age of 67 who starts at 62, that adds up to a 30 percent reduction. SSA's booklet gives the same figure for people who turn 62 in 2026.

We applied SSA's formula ourselves to get the other ages below. Check them with SSA's own calculator, because these are our arithmetic, not SSA figures.

SSA's 2026 booklet says you can apply up to four months before you want benefits to start.

What does waiting past full retirement age add?

SSA says it adds 8 percent to your benefit for each full year you delay beyond full retirement age, up to age 70. For someone born in 1960 or later, waiting from 67 to 70 is three years, or 24 percent more than the full-retirement-age benefit. That is our arithmetic from SSA's 8 percent rate, which SSA lists for people born in 1943 or later.

The figures are percentages of a benefit that depends on your own earnings. They do not tell you how many dollars you would receive, and they cannot tell you how long you will live.

What if you work while collecting benefits?

If you claim before full retirement age and keep earning, SSA's earnings test applies. SSA says it deducts $1 in benefits for each $2 you earn above the annual limit. In the year you reach full retirement age, it deducts $1 for each $3 above a higher limit, counting only earnings before the month you reach it. After full retirement age, earnings do not reduce benefits.

SSA's 2026 limits are:

We did not verify from the pages we opened how withheld benefits are treated later, or which kinds of income count toward the limit, so check both with SSA before relying on the test.

When does Medicare start?

SSA says you should sign up for Medicare three months before your 65th birthday, even if you have not started retirement benefits. SSA says that if you already get Social Security benefits, it will automatically enroll you in Original Medicare (Parts A and B) in the 50 states and several territories; check the booklet for the conditions and for whether you can decline Part B. SSA also says premium-free Part A coverage begins six months before the date you apply, but no earlier than your first eligible month.

The practical point is that SSA's Medicare sign-up advice centers on 65 while Social Security can start at 62. Someone who stops work before 65 may need to arrange health coverage for the gap. We did not research those options or their costs. We also did not open Medicare.gov's enrollment pages this session, so check the exact sign-up window there.

Examples of how the rules interact

These are simplified illustrations, not recommendations.

• Stopping work at 62 without claiming. Your last day of work and your Social Security start date are separate decisions, and 62 is only the earliest start age.
• Working at 64 and claiming. If you earn more than $24,480 in 2026 and claim before full retirement age, SSA says it deducts $1 in benefits for each $2 above that limit.
• Claiming at 70. The benefit is larger each month, but you receive none of it between 62 and 70. Savings or other income would have to cover those years.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Mixing up "full retirement age" with 65. For people born in 1960 or later it is 67, so the Medicare sign-up age (65) and full benefits do not line up.
• Overlooking the size of the early reduction. At 62 it is about 30 percent for a full retirement age of 67, according to SSA.
• Ignoring the health coverage gap. SSA's Medicare sign-up advice centers on 65.
• Treating averages as your own situation. The rules above are exact, but the best timing depends on your health, spouse, savings and job.

Questions to take to a professional

• What would my benefit be at 62, my full retirement age and 70, based on my own record?
• If I am married, how would my claiming age affect my spouse?
• How would I pay for health coverage if I stop work before 65?
• How long could my savings cover living costs if I delay claiming? Our guide to estimating retirement expenses helps with the costs side.

For related ground, see our retirement checklist by age, our guide to starting late in your 50s, and the retirement planning overview. The yearly cost-of-living change is covered in our 2027 COLA guide.

Where gold and silver IRAs fit - and where they do not

Some people hold part of their retirement savings in gold or silver. The arguments people give include diversification (metals may behave differently from stocks and bonds, though that is not guaranteed), a history of use as a store of value, and the appeal of a tangible asset. These are arguments, not guarantees, and nothing here predicts any price.

The costs and limits matter just as much. A gold or silver IRA can carry custodian, storage and dealer costs (see our fee guide below), and physical metal does not by itself pay interest or dividends. These are general points we have not tied to a single source. Prices can fall as well as rise, which matters if you plan to sell metal to fund living costs in a particular year. The IRS says an IRA that acquires a collectible is treated as taking a distribution, with exceptions for certain gold, silver and platinum coins and for certain bullion of a certain fineness that a bank or approved non-bank trustee keeps in its physical possession (IRS page, last reviewed 3 July 2026).

This site has no view on whether metals suit your retirement date. Our gold IRA guide, fee guide, risk guide and collectibles rule guide explain the basics.

What we did not check

We did not open Medicare.gov's enrollment pages or SSA's age-reduction and delayed-credit planner pages (the requests timed out), so those points rely on SSA's early or late retirement page and 2026 booklet. We did not review survivor or spousal benefit reductions, disability, or Medicare costs. Rules and limits change each year, so confirm with SSA and a qualified professional.