3 Good Reasons to Take Social Security Benefits Early
Ask any financial expert when you should apply for Social Security benefits, and there's a good chance they'll tell you to wait as long as you possibly can.
The Social Security Administration's full retirement age (or the age at which you can collect 100% of your benefits) for people born in 1960 or later is 67 years old, and the earliest you can start taking Social Security benefits is age 62. But if you choose to take benefits early, they'll be reduced based on the number of months you have before you reach your full retirement age.
For example, if you turn 62 in 2017 and have a full retirement age of 67, choosing to file for benefits now will reduce your benefits by about 30%. If you retire only one year early at 66 instead of 67, your benefits will only be cut by about 6.7%.
Source: Fool.com
