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iQuestions Faculty, Ron Blue 
 
 
Question: 
 
When should I start taking social security? 
 
Answer: 
 
The question of when to take Social Security is one that everybody 
that approaches retirement age of 62—when you can first start taking 
Social Security—tries to answer. 
 
You can first start taking Social Security at age 62. I’m talking now 
about retirement. If there’s death or disability that happens, Social 
Security benefits kick in earlier than that—but when it comes to 
retirement, the earliest you that you can take your Social Security 
benefits are at age 62. The next choice that you get is at age 65—and 
now it’s 65 and a few months. And then, lastly, you have to take your 
Social Security benefits at age 70. 
 
The way the government works it is if you start taking your Social 
Security benefits at age 62, you get a significantly lesser amount than 
if you waited until age 65, and at age 70, you even get more in the 
way of Social Security benefits.  
 
It’s really a game of, “Well, how long ya gonna live?” Because, if 
you’re going to live until age 65, then I would start taking Social 
Security at age 62. Unfortunately, none of us know the answer to that, 
of course. 
 
Economically, the way that I have handled it myself is that I began 
taking Social Security benefits when I was at age 65 and 10 months, 
which was the next eligible date for me. I did not start taking Social 
 
 
Security at age 62—my health was good, my life expectancy was long 
—and the benefit of waiting to take those benefits in terms of the 
amount I would get far surpassed the short-term benefit of taking 
those benefits, beginning at age 62. 
 
To summarize, you can start taking benefits at age 62. Generally, it 
makes sense, however, to wait until age 65—and generally, it makes 
more sense to take it at age 65 than it does to wait until age 70.  
 
However, I would suggest to you that you consult either the Social 
Security office, or someone who has been down this road before who 
has made those decisions, in order to make the decision yourself as to 
when you should start taking Social Security. 
 
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