When can I start collecting Social Security?

The earliest you can start receiving retirement benefits is when you reach age 62. Your payments would begin in your first full month as a 62-year-old — that is, the calendar month after your birthday. You can apply for benefits up to four months before you want them to start, so to begin when you turn 62, you can apply at age 61 and 9 months.

However, if you do so, Social Security will reduce your payment. Only at your full retirement age, or FRA, do you qualify to claim 100 percent of your basic monthly benefit, which is calculated from your 35 highest-earning years. FRA is 66 and 8 months for people born in 1958, 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959 and 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

Your payment will increase even more if you wait until age 70 to apply, as you’ll be accruing delayed retirement credits. (You can apply later than 70, but it doesn’t change your benefit.)

The starting age can differ for other types of Social Security benefits.

Spousal benefits: These can begin at 62, as long as the spouse on whose work record you are claiming them is already receiving retirement or disability benefits. Spousal benefits are reduced if taken before FRA.

Survivor benefits: You can apply for benefits on the record of a deceased spouse or ex-spouse at 60; 50 if you have a disability; or any age if you are caring for any children of the deceased who are under age 16 or have a disability. These benefits are also reduced if claimed prior to full retirement age, which is calculated differently for survivors: It's 66 and 4 months for survivors born in 1958, 66 and 6 months for those born in 1959 and is gradually rising to 67 for those born in 1962 or later.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): No age requirement, but you must have spent some time in work in which you paid Social Security taxes. The amount of time increases with age, but you may qualify for SSDI with less time in the workforce than you need to collect retirement benefits. You must also demonstrate that your medical condition meets Social Security’s strict definition of disability and show evidence that it prevents you from working.

Keep in mind

• The question of when you can claim benefits is separate from a more important question: When should you claim benefits? The answer is complicated and depends on your job situation, family circumstances, and financial and physical health.
• There is no minimum age for dependent children to receive benefits on the earnings record of a parent who is retired, deceased or has a disability. These can begin at any time but in most circumstances end at age 18.
• Parents who were financially dependent on a son or daughter who dies can collect survivor benefits from age 62.