Social Security Retirement Insurance

A person who is Fully Insured may take early retirement on attaining age 62. However, the amount of monthly income will be lower if you retire at age 62 than if you wait until your Full Retirement Age. The reduction is designed so that the approximate amount of benefits paid over your lifetime (estimated on a statistical basis) will be about the same regardless of when you choose to retire.

If you're considering retiring before Full Retirement Age because you have a medical condition that makes working physically and/or mentally more difficult, consider filing for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). The definition of "disability" is generally easier to meet for people over age 60 than for younger people. The SSDI benefit will be your projected amount at Full Retirement Age, rather than the discounted Early Retirement Amount which begins at age 62.

If your Full Retirement Age is 65, (see the chart immediately above), and you choose early retirement, your current reduction in benefits will be 5/9 of 1% for each month that you will receive benefits prior to age 65.

If your Full Retirement age is above age 65, (that is you were born after 1937), early retirement can start still start at age 62. However, the reduction in your monthly benefit will be greater than it would be for someone whose full retirement age is 65. In this scenario, the standard monthly reduction of 5/9 of 1% still applies for the first 36 months, the difference between age 62 and age 65.

After the first 36 months, the benefit reduces a further 5/12 of 1% for each additional month beyond the 36 months.

Here's an estimate of the reduction in your benefit if your full retirement age is 67:

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