If you were born after 1937, thereby making your full retirement age older than 65, you still will be able to take your retirement benefits at age 62, but the reduction in your benefit amount will be greater than it is for people retiring now. For example, someone retiring at age 62 will receive 36 months' benefits before reaching the full retirement age of 65, resulting in a 20 percent reduction. An individual whose full retirement age is 67 will receive benefits for 60 months between age 62 and full retirement age. This is a 30 percent reduction. The general rule is that early retirement will give you about the same total Social Security benefits over your lifetime, but in smaller amounts to account for the longer period you will receive them.
Poor health causes some people to retire early.
If poor health keeps you from continuing to work, consider applying for Social Security disability. The disability benefit amount is the same as a full, unreduced retirement benefit. If you decide to continue working full-time beyond your full retirement age and, accordingly, do not sign up for Social Security until later, you can increase your Social Security benefit in two ways. It follows that the higher your average earnings, the higher your Social Security benefit will be. Second, your Social Security benefit will be increased by a certain percentage if you delay retirement.