Who Claims Social Security At Age 62?

Deciding when to start taking Social Security benefits is a financial question fraught with intricacies and pitfalls. A new Government Accountability Office report highlighting the factors that lead many Americans to claim Social Security early at age 62—and to forego higher monthly benefits–concludes that it’s important to preserve the choice to take early benefits, but it may be costing some retirees unwittingly. “Increasing life expectancy and time spent in retirement raise the potential cost to retirees of claiming early, and therefore reduced, benefits,” the GAO report says.