1
Claiming at 62 because you can.
Sixty-two is the earliest age, not the default age. If you were born in 1960 or later,
your full retirement age is 67. Claiming at 62 cuts your check by 30%, and
that cut is permanent. It does not go back up when you turn 67.
Waiting past 67 works the other way. Your benefit grows about 8% a year until 70, so
waiting all the way means roughly 24% more every month for life, with cost-of-living
raises applied on top of the bigger number.
The same worker, three different choices
| Claim at | You get | What that means |
|---|
| 62 | 70% | $700 for every $1,000 you'd have had at 67 |
| 67 | 100% | your full benefit |
| 70 | 124% | $1,240 for every $1,000 |
To be fair: claiming early is the right call for plenty of people:
poor health, no other income, a job that ended. The mistake isn't claiming at 62. It's
claiming at 62 without ever seeing this table.
2
Forgetting that one of you dies first.
This is the expensive one, and almost nobody is told about it.
When one spouse dies, the survivor does not keep both checks. They keep the larger
of the two. So whatever the higher earner locked in becomes the survivor's income,
possibly for twenty years or more.
What that looks like in dollars
Say the higher earner would get $2,400 at 67
but claims at 62 instead. Their check becomes about $1,680. They pass away at 74.
The surviving spouse now lives on $1,680 a month, not $2,400, for the rest of
their life.
Over twenty years that difference is roughly
$173,000, before counting the cost-of-living raises that would have compounded on the
bigger number.
The move: in most married couples the higher earner should think
hardest about waiting, and the lower earner can often claim earlier without doing damage.
It's one conversation, and it's worth having before either of you files.
3
Collecting early while you're still working.
If you claim before your full retirement age and keep earning a paycheck, Social Security
holds back part of your benefit.
| In 2026, if you are… | You can earn | They hold back |
|---|
| Under full retirement age all year | $24,480 | $1 for every $2 over |
| Reaching full retirement age this year | $65,160 | $1 for every $3 over |
| At full retirement age or older | no limit | nothing |
Here's the part nobody explains: that money isn't gone forever. When you
hit full retirement age they recalculate and raise your monthly check to give it back over
time. It's a delay, not a penalty. But it's still a cash-flow problem in the years you
didn't plan for it. People quit jobs over this because they thought the money was
lost for good.
4
Assuming Social Security isn't taxed.
Up to 85% of your benefit can be taxable income, depending on what else you bring in.
The thresholds that decide it are these:
| Filing | Some benefits taxable above | Up to 85% taxable above |
|---|
| Single | $25,000 | $34,000 |
| Married filing jointly | $32,000 | $44,000 |
Based on "provisional income": your adjusted gross
income, plus tax-free interest, plus half your Social Security.
Why this catches people: those numbers were set in 1984 and have never
been adjusted for inflation. Not once. A benefit that wasn't taxed for your parents gets
taxed for you, at the same dollar threshold, forty years later. Which bucket you draw
retirement income from, and in what order, changes this number. That part is controllable.
California does not tax Social Security benefits. This is the federal side.
5
Paying your Medicare premium when the state would pay it for you.
Medicare Part B costs $202.90 a month in 2026, and for most people it comes straight
out of the Social Security check before it ever arrives.
California has Medicare Savings Programs, including one called QMB, that
pay that premium for you, and often the deductibles and copays too. Hundreds of thousands of
people who qualify have never applied, usually because nobody told them it existed.
If you qualify, this is what it's worth
$2,434
a year, back in your check, just from the Part B
premium being covered. Before counting deductibles and copays.
Roughly who qualifies in 2026
| One person | about $1,330/month |
| A couple | about $1,804/month |
Income limits, and savings can count too. There are
related programs with higher limits if you're just over. Don't rule yourself out on this
page. The rules changed in January 2026 and they're genuinely confusing. Ask.
