The decision of when to claim retirement benefits does not follow a uniform logic; every person has their reasons and their circumstances. The data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) reveals three moments when most workers concentrate their requests: at age 62, around 66 or 67, and at 70.
Each peak follows a different logic, and together they paint a picture of the real priorities of those approaching retirement in the United States.
Social Security Claiming Peaks at Three Key Ages
The Full Retirement Age (FRA)—the full retirement age, which ranges from 66 to 67 depending on the year of birth—remains the most popular choice. According to 2022 SSA data, 28.4% of men and 26.5% of women began their benefits precisely at that point.
The reason is straightforward, actually: it is the only point at which there is neither a reduction nor a postponement of the amount to which the worker is entitled based on their accumulated contributions.
However, age 62 is the second most pronounced peak. That same year, 22.9% of men and 24.5% of women chose to claim as soon as the program allowed. The percentage of those who choose that age has been falling in recent decades, but it remains one of the periods with the highest concentration of applications. In global terms, 29% of all claimants submit their application at age 62.
The Retirement Penalty That Many Accept
Claiming before the FRA has a specific and permanent cost. Doing so at age 62 implies a reduction of approximately 30% on the total benefit. This discount is not recovered at any later stage of retirement. At age 64, the reduction is 13.3%, and at age 65, around 6.7%.
The maximum amounts in 2026 illustrate the magnitude of the gap: the difference between receiving a pension at 62 and waiting until 70 amounts to $2,212 monthly.
At the opposite extreme, postponing the claim until age 70 generates an increase of 8% for each year of waiting beyond the FRA. This can increase the benefit by up to 25% above the full amount. However, only 4% of Americans reach that point without having previously applied for benefits, according to data from the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
The average effective age at which retired workers access Social Security is around 65 years, a number that reflects the distribution between those who claim in advance and those who wait for the FRA or longer.
2034 Shortfall Fears Push Even High Earners to Claim Social Security Early
Long-term patterns began to change markedly in 2025. Between January and July of that year, more than 2.3 million people applied for Social Security retirement benefits, a 16% increase compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Urban Institute. That jump interrupted a decades-long trend toward increasingly later claiming.
The change even reached high-income segments, which historically had a greater capacity to postpone. According to Jack Smalligan, senior fellow for policy issues at the Urban Institute, that group “has the greatest capacity to delay their application for benefits” and yet began claiming at 62. AARP surveys documented that part of the phenomenon responds to concerns about the future stability of the program.
The Social Security financial context justifies some of that caution. The program administrators’ annual report projects that the surplus in the trust funds will run out in 2034. From that point on, with available tax revenues, the system could only cover 81% of scheduled benefits. That prospect accelerated the pace of applications across all age groups.
What the Numbers Show About the System
Social Security disburses annually $1.4 trillion in benefits and covers almost 67 million Americans each month. The average benefit for retired workers reached $2,076.41 monthly in February 2026. However, the program only replaces between 33% and 55% of pre-retirement earnings for the average worker, a proportion that has been decreasing as the FRA increased from 65 to 67 years between 2000 and 2022.
For someone with average income who retires at 65 in 2022, Social Security covers approximately 37% of their previous income. This gap partly explains why so many workers cannot afford to wait until 70, even though actuarial calculations favor it: the break-even point between claiming at 62 versus waiting until 70 is reached around age 80, an age that not all beneficiaries reach.
Remember that this article is just for your information and that, if you’re thinking about retirement, you must, at any time, consult your retirement advisor.
