Do I need to notify Social Security when turning 62 if delaying benefits until 65?

You don't need to notify Social Security that you're turning 62 if you don't want to claim benefits yet. Nothing happens automatically. Benefits only start when you actually apply for them, which you can do online, by phone, or at your local SSA office. The choice of when to claim is entirely yours!

Nope! I turned 62 last year and didn't do anything. Social Security doesn't even know you exist until you apply! Well, I mean they have your earnings record but you know what I mean lol

SS doesn't automatically start ANYTHING!!! My sister didn't know and waited for them to contact her and lost 8 months of payments she could have been getting!!! You have to APPLY when you want it to start. No notification needed when you DON'T want it though.

To answer your follow-up question: If you were born after 1960, your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is 67, not 65. At age 65, your benefit would be reduced by about 13.3% from your full benefit amount. At 62, it would be reduced by about 30%. Each year you delay beyond your FRA (up to age 70), you earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year. For comparison: - At 62: ~70% of your full benefit - At 65: ~86.7% of your full benefit - At 67 (FRA): 100% of your full benefit - At 70: 124% of your full benefit This is why the claiming decision is so important - it affects your payment amount for the rest of your life.

Had the exact same question when I turned 62 last year! Thought there would be a letter or something from SSA saying "hey, you're eligible now!" but nope. Nothing happens. Which is actually nice because you don't have to deal with any paperwork until YOU decide you're ready to claim.

I tried calling Social Security to ask a question like this last month and it was IMPOSSIBLE to get through. I kept getting disconnected after waiting 45+ minutes! Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in under 5 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed you don't need to notify them at 62 if you're not claiming yet. But when you ARE ready to apply, do it 3 months before you want benefits to start to make sure everything processes in time.

but what if you are still working at 65? do you have to apply for medicare separate?

Just make sure you're calculating the BREAK EVEN POINT too!!! I waited until 66 to claim and now I'm 80 and JUST reached my break even compared to if I claimed at 62. People don't realize how LONG it takes to make up the difference of all those years of not getting ANY payments!!! Sometimes taking it early is SMARTER!!

when i was turning 62 i got sooooooooo many letters from financial advisors trying to "help" me make social security decisions lol...made me think SSA was sending out notifications about my birthday but nope, just financial people mining data

One additional consideration for your planning: if you're married or divorced (after a marriage of at least 10 years), coordinating spousal benefits might impact your optimal claiming strategy. Also, if you're still working between 62-FRA, there's an earnings test that could reduce benefits temporarily if you claim early while earning above certain thresholds ($23,310 in 2025 if below FRA all year).

Great question! I just went through this same decision process last year. One thing that really helped me was using the SSA's online calculator at ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html to see exactly how much my monthly benefit would be at different claiming ages. It made the numbers really concrete - like seeing that waiting from 62 to 67 would increase my monthly payment by about $800 for life. Also consider creating a my Social Security account online if you haven't already - you can see your complete earnings history and get benefit estimates without having to call anyone. The peace of mind of seeing everything laid out clearly was worth it for me!

I'm turning 62 next year and this thread has been SO helpful! I had the exact same worry about missing some kind of deadline or notification requirement. It's reassuring to know that nothing happens automatically and I can take my time to make the right decision. One thing I'm curious about - for those of you who waited past 62, how did you handle the psychological aspect of "leaving money on the table" each month? I keep doing the math and know waiting is probably better for me long-term, but it's hard to think about potentially missing out on payments, especially if something unexpected happens health-wise. Did anyone else struggle with this decision anxiety?

I'm in a similar boat - turning 62 in a few months and had been wondering about the same notification question! This thread has been incredibly helpful. What really stands out to me is how personal this decision is based on individual circumstances. I've been leaning toward waiting until my FRA at 67, but reading about the break-even analysis and seeing the actual percentages laid out makes me realize I need to do more homework. The point about Medicare being separate from Social Security is something I hadn't even considered yet. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it's so valuable to hear real stories from people who have actually navigated this process!

As someone who's new to this community and just starting to think about Social Security planning, this entire discussion has been incredibly enlightening! I'm still a few years away from 62, but seeing how many people had the same concerns about whether they needed to "notify" SSA when turning eligible really puts my mind at ease for the future. The key takeaways I'm getting are: 1) Nothing happens automatically - you have to actively apply, 2) Medicare is separate and has its own enrollment timeline at 65, and 3) The break-even analysis is crucial for making the right personal decision. I'm definitely going to start tracking my earnings history through that my Social Security account everyone mentioned. Thanks to everyone who shared their real experiences - it makes such a complex topic much more approachable for those of us just beginning to navigate this!

As a newcomer to this community, I'm finding this discussion incredibly valuable! I'm still several years away from 62, but it's reassuring to learn early that there's no automatic enrollment or notification requirement when you become eligible. The detailed breakdown of benefit percentages at different claiming ages really helps put the financial impact in perspective. I had no idea that delaying from 62 to 70 could mean the difference between 70% and 124% of your full benefit - that's a huge swing! I'm definitely going to create my Social Security account soon to start tracking my earnings history and familiarizing myself with the system. Thanks to everyone for sharing such practical, real-world advice. It's exactly the kind of information that helps take the mystery out of Social Security planning!

As someone new to this community and just beginning to research Social Security planning, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm about 5 years away from 62, but I had the exact same misconception that SSA might automatically start something when you become eligible. It's such a relief to learn that you maintain complete control over when to apply and there's no paperwork required just for turning 62. The financial breakdown everyone has shared is eye-opening - especially seeing how the monthly benefit amount changes so dramatically based on when you claim. I'm particularly interested in the break-even analysis that several people mentioned. For someone like me who's just starting to plan ahead, would you recommend focusing on creating that my Social Security account first, or should I be doing other groundwork while I'm still years away from eligibility? Thanks to everyone for sharing such practical, real-world experiences!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone for this incredibly informative discussion! I'm about 8 years away from 62, but I had always assumed there would be some kind of automatic process or notification when you become eligible for Social Security. Learning that you have complete control over when to apply (and that nothing happens until YOU take action) is such valuable information to know ahead of time. The detailed breakdown of benefit percentages at different claiming ages really drives home how important this timing decision is - seeing that waiting from 62 to your full retirement age could mean going from 70% to 100% of your benefit is a huge difference over a lifetime. I'm definitely going to create my Social Security account soon to start familiarizing myself with the system and tracking my earnings history. It's so helpful to have real experiences from people who have navigated these decisions rather than trying to piece together information from various government websites. This community is an amazing resource for understanding these complex but crucial financial decisions!

As someone new to this community and just starting to learn about Social Security, this entire thread has been incredibly reassuring! I'm still about 10 years away from 62, but I had the same worry that there might be some automatic enrollment or required paperwork when you become eligible. It's such a relief to learn that you maintain complete control over the timing and nothing happens until you actively apply. The breakdown of benefit percentages at different claiming ages is really eye-opening - I had no idea the difference could be so substantial between claiming at 62 versus waiting until 70. I'm definitely going to set up my Social Security account this week to start tracking my earnings history and getting familiar with the system. What strikes me most is how personalized this decision really is based on individual health, financial situation, and family circumstances. Thanks to everyone for sharing such practical, real-world experiences - it makes this complex topic so much more approachable for those of us just beginning our research!

As a newcomer to this community, I just want to say how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm about 6 years away from 62, but I had the exact same concern about whether there would be some kind of automatic notification or enrollment process when I become eligible. Learning that absolutely nothing happens until YOU decide to apply is such crucial information to know ahead of time. The detailed breakdown everyone has provided about benefit percentages at different claiming ages really puts the financial impact in perspective - seeing that the difference between claiming at 62 versus waiting until full retirement age or beyond can be tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime is sobering. I'm definitely going to create my Social Security account this week to start familiarizing myself with the system and tracking my earnings history. What's been most valuable is hearing real experiences from people who have actually navigated these decisions rather than just reading generic government information. This community provides such practical, personalized insights that make this complex topic much more manageable. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge and experiences!

As someone completely new to this community and Social Security planning in general, this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm about 12 years away from 62, but I stumbled across this discussion while doing some early research and I'm so glad I did. Like many others here, I had completely assumed there would be some kind of automatic process or required paperwork when you become eligible - learning that you maintain full control and nothing happens until you actively apply is such important information to know ahead of time. The breakdown of benefit percentages at different claiming ages is really striking - seeing that waiting could mean the difference between 70% and 124% of your full benefit over a lifetime is a huge eye-opener. I'm definitely going to create my Social Security account soon to start tracking my earnings history, even though I'm still years away from needing it. What's been most helpful is seeing how personalized this decision really is based on individual circumstances like health, work plans, and family situation. It makes me realize that while I can start educating myself now, the real strategic planning will need to happen closer to decision time when I have a clearer picture of my specific situation. Thank you to everyone who has shared their real experiences and practical advice - this community is such a valuable resource for understanding these complex but crucial decisions!