Nearly one-quarter of Social Security beneficiaries applied for benefits at 62, making it the most popular claiming age. It’s not difficult to understand why. When you apply for Social Security right away, you guarantee yourself the greatest number of checks. But there’s a reason that roughly three-quarters of beneficiaries don’t sign up then.

When you claim Social Security at 62, you agree to some trade-offs. Here are three you might not be aware of.

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1. You reduce the size of your checks

The Social Security Administration allows you to claim checks at 62. But if you want the full benefit you’ve earned based on your work history, you must wait until your full retirement age (FRA). That’s 67 for most workers today, though some older adults have FRAs as young as 66.

Every month you claim benefits under your FRA shrinks your checks. First, you lose five-ninths of 1% per month for up to 36 months. Then, you lose another five-twelfths of 1% per month. Those who apply immediately at 62 reduce their checks by 25% if their FRA is 66, or 30% if their FRA is 67. That would drop a $2,000 monthly benefit as low as $1,400 per month.

Contrary to what some believe, this reduction is usually permanent. With one exception that we’ll discuss, your benefit amount largely stays the same. You’ll get small cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) each year, but this is only supposed to help your checks keep up with inflation.

2. You may lose money to the earnings test

Those who claim Social Security under their FRA while still working are in danger of losing more of their checks to the earnings test. This is where the government withholds money from your benefits after your income from your job exceeds a certain amount for the year.

In 2025, you lose $1 from your checks for every $2 you earn over $23,400 if you’ll be under your FRA all year. If you’ll reach your FRA in 2025, you only lose $1 for every $3 you earn over $62,160 if you earn this amount before your birthday. For some high earners, it’s possible to get nothing from Social Security due to earnings test withholding.

The good news is that when you reach your FRA, the government recalculates your benefit if you had anything withheld due to the earnings test in past years. Your future checks will be larger, though how much larger depends on the amount the Social Security Administration kept from you previously.

This is a one-time adjustment. After this, your benefit will likely only grow through annual COLAs. However, once you pass your FRA, you can earn as much money as you want from your job, and the government won’t hold anything back from your checks. A high income could still put you at risk of owing Social Security benefit taxes, though.

3. You reduce your family’s survivors benefits

If you’re married or have dependents, they could be entitled to survivors benefits if you pass away. The amount of the survivors benefit depends on their relationship to you, their age at signup, and the benefit you were receiving or were eligible for at the time you passed away.

This means that when you apply for Social Security at 62, you effectively reduce the survivors benefits your family members are eligible for. This is something you may want to discuss with your affected family members before deciding when you want to claim.

When claiming at 62 makes sense

These downsides may lead you to believe that delaying Social Security is always the better choice, but that’s not true. Claiming at 62 can be a wise move if you aren’t financially able to delay Social Security. It can also be the right decision if you have a short life expectancy and have no dependents, or cannot afford to forgo benefits altogether.

But if neither of these things apply to you, you might get a larger lifetime benefit by delaying Social Security. You don’t have to apply at your FRA, either. You can continue to delay benefits until you qualify for your largest checks at 70. This could give you up to 32% more than what you’d get at your FRA.

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