This is a question you can't answer without knowing more about your entire portfolio:
- For most of working adults today (well, people my age, who were born in the 60s or later), "full retirement age" is 67; that is, if you retire at 67, you get your "full Social Security amount". For every year that you take your benefit early, you give up 6 2/3% (for the first X months, then slightly less for the remainder) of your total check; thus, taking your benefit five years early could mean giving up 1/3 of your benefits. If you delay your payments after age 67, your eventual check will be larger -- I think interest adds until age 70 (?) and at that point never increases.
- Age 62 is the earliest you can collect Social Security, and people tend to focus on whether they should start at 62, but consider that you could opt for 63, 64, 65, 66 -- or 63.5, 64.6, 65.5, 66.5 -- and every month /every year you don't draw a benefit is another year that your monthly total is growing higher. So don't think about this as an either-or proposition; think about it as a sliding scale.
- If you're married, you must consider your own SS as well as your spouse's SS. I can't remember the details, but at some point a lower-earning spouse can start to draw on the primary earner's SS -- and that can make a whole lot of difference in the total picture.
- If you have significant assets, taking SS early might be wise. IF this would allow your investments to sit untouched /keep growing. Consider, too, that if you die 65-70, having barely touched your SS account, those investments can be left to your children; whereas, SS would just stop.
- If your health isn't good /you think you won't live to see old-old age, you might be wise to start drawing early. Of course, this is a gamble.
- What is not wise: taking SS at age 62 because you're fed up with working and can only retire if you begin your SS benefits. Taking SS at age 62 does mean accepting a smaller "paycheck" for the rest of your life, and if you're already pushed for retirement funds, accepting that smaller amount isn't a great idea.
- Do you intend to continue working part-time? If so, consider that -- if you reach a certain dollar figure, and I don't know what that figure is -- they'll reduce your SS.
- A little off-topic: consider that Social Security and Medicare are entirely different programs (though aimed at the same target audience). You can begin Medicare at age 65 regardless of whether you're already collecting Social Security. And my Mom's Medicare is a whole lot cheaper than what I'm paying for my employer-based insurance right now.
- My best advice: make an appointment with a financial advisor or accountant who specializes in Social Security. A one-time, one-hour appointment should be enough. Make it clear that you only want to talk about one topic: WHEN is the optimal time for me, given my financial circumstances? Lay out all your details and say, "Math it up, Dude." You only get to make this decision once, and it'll affect the rest of your life, so an expert opinion is worthwhile.
...happened for my grandmother who got cancer in her 30s and it kept recurring over the decades...but she lived to her 90's, while her spouse died in his 70's (after no health issues til the big one) and her kid, my dad, died at 53.
