An individual cannot collect Social Security Retirement Benefits and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) at the same time; however, it is possible to collect Early Retirement before getting approved for SSDI. You can start taking Early Retirement at sixty-two. As a benchmark, if you start collecting right at 62, you will receive approximately 70% of your full retirement benefit. The closer you get to the full  retirement age of 67 before collecting, the more benefits you will get. Generally speaking, you are locked into the rate for when you start collecting benefits. However, there is an exception if you decide to take early retirement after you become disabled while waiting on the status of your SSDI case. If your SSDI claim is approved, the Agency will retroactively convert your Early Retirement benefits into your disability benefits, award you any difference, and then reinstate your full retirement age. On the other hand, if you are not approved for SSDI, your Early Retirement benefit will stand. So before deciding to take Early Retirement, you should consider the severity of your financial need, your life expectancy, and the strength of your case to see if you need or would want to take Early Retirement. Here is a common example: Jane stops working at 61 because of a disability and applies for SSDI. Her initial application gets denied, and she is in the process of appealing the decision. During the waiting period, she is struggling financially, and so, at 62, she begins to take Early Retirement. She gets an SSDI approval when she turns 63. At this point, Jane will get backpay starting 6 months after the onset of her disability, which will be prorated based on what she was receiving from Early Retirement. SSDI monthly award amounts are comparable to full retirement benefits, so Jane should receive some back pay, and then future monthly checks will be that new, higher rate. Finally, Social Security will reinstate her retirement benefits, so when she turns 67, she will be switched from SSDI to retirement.