"When it comes to claiming Social Security, there's a wide range of ages to choose from. The earliest age you can claim Social Security is 62. But if you want your monthly benefits without a reduction, you'll need to wait until full retirement age (FRA), which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later. You're also allowed to delay your Social Security claim past FRA. For each year you do, until you turn 70, your benefits get boosted by 8%."
"Dave Ramsey is someone who's extremely conservative when it comes to debt, and his goal is to empower people to make smart financial decisions. For this reason, you'd perhaps think Ramsey would be inclined to suggest claiming Social Security at 70, since it guarantees larger monthly benefits. However, Ramsey is actually a huge proponent of claiming Social Security at 62. And there are a couple of reasons for this."
"First, he thinks that if people claim benefits at 62 and invest the money, they can grow it into a larger sum than what they'd get by waiting and locking in larger monthly Social Security checks. Also, he says that people who wait too long to claim Social Security risk shorting themselves on lifetime income if they pass away fairly young."
Social Security can be claimed as early as 62, with full retirement age (FRA) at 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Delaying claims past FRA increases benefits by 8% per year up to age 70, and there is no financial advantage to waiting beyond 70. A hypothetical beneficiary with a $2,000 FRA benefit would receive $1,400 at 62 and $2,480 at 70. Dave Ramsey advocates claiming at 62, arguing that investing early benefits and avoiding the risk of reduced lifetime income in the event of an early death can outperform waiting.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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