Will stopping work 5 years before claiming Social Security at 62 reduce my retirement benefits?

Your benefit amount is based on your highest 35 years of earnings (adjusted for inflation), so having 5 years of zero income before claiming won't necessarily hurt you IF you already have 35 years of good earnings. If you've worked 30 years so far, those 5 years of zeros would be included in your calculation. The SSA takes your highest 35 years, so if you only have 30 years of work, you'll have 5 zeros averaged in regardless of when they occur (early in your career or right before claiming).

my aunt did something like this and regrets it now!!! she quit at 58 and her SS checks are way lower than her friends who worked until 65. not sure if its the same thing your talking about but just be careful

Your Social Security retirement benefit is calculated based on your highest-earning 35 years of work (adjusted for inflation). Here's what this means for your situation: 1. If you've worked 30 years so far, and you stop working at 57, you'll have 30 years of earnings and 5 years of zeros in your calculation regardless of when you claim benefits. 2. Your benefit amount won't be affected by WHEN these zero years occur - whether they're at the beginning or end of your career doesn't matter, just the total number of zero years counted in your top 35. 3. I recommend creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov and using their calculator to see estimates based on different scenarios. You can enter future projected earnings to see how working longer might affect your benefit. 4. Remember that claiming at 62 permanently reduces your monthly benefit by about 30% compared to waiting until your Full Retirement Age (likely 67 for you). Those 5 years without earnings will impact your benefit somewhat, but if your 30 years of work have been at consistent good wages, the impact may be less than you fear.

Everyone's giving great advice but nobody mentioned the COLA issue!! If you stop working at 57, you'll miss out on 5 years of wage inflation adjustments that would've increased your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings). The SSA indexes your earnings to account for wage growth over time, but only up to the year you turn 60. After that, your actual earnings are counted without indexing. So those late-career raises might be worth more than you think in the benefit calculation.

I did EXACTLY what you're describing. Stopped working at 58 and claimed at 62 (I'm 64 now). Let me tell you - I WISH SOMEONE HAD WARNED ME!!!! My benefit is only $1428/month which is WAY less than I expected!!!! The SSA person told me it was because of all those zeros in my record. I thought I had it all figured out but now I'm struggling. Think REALLY hard before you do this!!!

Just wondering - have you checked to see if you qualify for any spousal benefits? Sometimes those can be higher than your own benefit depending on your spouse's work record. Might be worth looking into as part of your planning.

If you're trying to reach the SSA to discuss your specific situation, good luck getting through on the phone. I spent THREE DAYS trying to get a human on the line to discuss my benefit calculation. Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Might be worth it to talk through your specific numbers with them rather than rely on general advice here. They can pull up your actual earnings record and run calculations for different scenarios.

Just to add something important - if you have any children under 18 (or disabled adult children) when you claim at 62, they might be eligible for benefits on your record too - up to 50% of your amount. This sometimes makes claiming early worthwhile even with the reduction. Same if you have a non-working spouse under FRA - they could get spousal benefits when you claim.

Wait im confused does social security look at the last 5 years or the last 35 years?? My cousin told me its just the last 5 years that count for your payment amount

NO ONE IS MENTIONING THE EARNINGS TEST!!! If you claim at 62 and decide to go back to work before your Full Retirement Age, SSA will TAKE BACK $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above the annual limit (about $22,320 in 2025). So don't assume you can just go back to work part-time without consequences if your savings run short!