Retirement can start with a wonderful feeling: Monday morning arrives, and nobody expects you to be anywhere. There is just one catch. Leaving work at 62 instead of 67 can permanently shrink your Social Security checks, even if you have spent decades paying into the system.
For Americans born in 1960 or later, claiming Social Security at 62 instead of full retirement age at 67 reduces the monthly retirement benefit by 30%. That decision also means giving up five years of potential earnings and delaying the larger checks that could help cover expenses later in life. Yet waiting until 67 isn’t automatically the smartest choice for everyone. The real question involves more than the size of a monthly deposit. It involves how to pay for retirement, how long savings must last, and how much freedom those extra working years are worth.
