The Most Ridiculous Reason to Claim Social Security at 62
Should you file for Social Security at 62? Maybe. But if you're to file at the earliest possible age and slash your benefits for life, you'd better have a darn good reason for doing so.
The average senior on Social Security gets a little over $1,500 a month in benefits. If that's what you're entitled to during retirement at a full retirement age of 67, but you file at 62 instead, you'll lose out on about $450 a month in income -- permanently. And that's a hard financial hit to absorb.
So what constitutes a good reason for claiming your benefits early? Well, for one thing, if you're forced out of a job and don't have enough in savings to pay your bills, then filing for benefits makes a lot more sense than holding off and racking up costly debt in the process. Similarly, if you can't work due to health reasons (yours or a loved one's), then claiming benefits early to get by is a reasonable thing to do.
Source Fool.com
