Waiting until 70 is often presented as the safest Social Security strategy because it produces the largest monthly retirement benefit. For workers born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 can reduce the benefit to about 70% of the amount available at full retirement age, while waiting from 67 to 70 raises that full benefit to 124%. That larger, inflation-adjusted payment can be valuable for retirees who expect to live well into their 80s, have limited savings, or want to protect a surviving spouse.
Dave Ramsey’s position is more nuanced than simply telling everyone to file at 62. Ramsey Solutions says early claiming can make sense when someone has health concerns or does not need the money for expenses and can invest it. Its guidance also says healthy people who need Social Security to pay their bills may be better served by waiting and continuing to work. The real issue is whether Ramsey’s investment strategy fits the retiree’s health, income, marriage, and tolerance for market risk.
Ramsey’s Strategy Makes Longevity the Biggest Risk
Ramsey’s argument begins with a fact no retirement calculator can resolve: a worker’s retirement check ends at death, although eligible family members may receive survivor benefits. Invested money, meanwhile, may remain in an estate. Someone who waits from 62 until 70 gives up as many as eight years of checks in exchange for a much larger monthly payment later. Using the standard benefit percentages for a worker whose full retirement age is 67, the simplified break-even point generally falls around age 80 or 81.
This estimate ignores taxes, investment returns, cost-of-living adjustments, and spousal benefits, so it is a guide rather than a universal answer. Longevity statistics also push back against assuming early claiming will automatically produce more lifetime income. The 2026 Trustees Report projects remaining period life expectancy at 65 of 18.4 years for men and 20.9 years for women, corresponding to approximately ages 83.4 and 85.9.
The Investment Strategy Comes With Real Risk
Ramsey’s second argument is that an early claimant can invest the checks instead of leaving them with the government. His published guidance says someone who does not need Social Security for daily expenses could claim early and invest the money in growth-oriented mutual funds. The math can work if returns are strong, the investor remains disciplined, and the money stays invested through market declines. None of those outcomes is guaranteed. A worker born in 1960 or later who claims at 62 generally receives about 70% of the full-retirement-age benefit.
Waiting until 70 produces 124%, reflecting delayed-retirement credits of 8% per year from 67 through 70. That increase is backed by the federal benefit formula and receives future cost-of-living adjustments. Stocks may deliver a higher long-term return, but they bring volatility and sequence-of-returns risk. A major downturn shortly after filing could leave an early claimant with both a reduced lifetime benefit and an investment account worth less than expected.
Working at 62 Can Disrupt Ramsey’s Plan
The 2026 retirement earnings test makes early claiming more complicated for anyone who continues working, but withheld benefits are not permanently lost. For people who will remain below full retirement age throughout 2026, Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 of wages or self-employment income above $24,480. In the year a worker reaches full retirement age, the higher limit is $65,160, and $1 is withheld for every $3 earned above that amount before the month full retirement age is reached.
Afterward, the earnings test no longer applies. SSA also recalculates the monthly benefit at full retirement age to account for months in which payments were withheld. Investment income, pensions, annuities, interest, and capital gains generally do not count as earnings for this test. A 62-year-old does not have to leave the workforce to claim, but a strong salary could prevent some or all early checks from arriving when Ramsey’s investment strategy expects them.
Married Couples Have More at Stake
Married couples should evaluate Social Security as a household decision, particularly when one spouse earned substantially more. When one spouse dies, the survivor generally receives the higher eligible payment rather than continuing to collect both full benefits. A surviving spouse may receive from 71.5% to 100% of the deceased worker’s benefit depending on when the survivor claims, and the deceased worker’s filing history can affect the calculation.
That means an early claim by the higher earner can reduce the income available to the surviving spouse, although the exact result is more complicated than making the reduced retirement check a universal ceiling. Delaying the higher earner’s benefit may function like longevity insurance for the spouse most likely to live longer. Ramsey’s invest-the-checks approach could still build assets that pass to heirs, but it shifts risk from Social Security’s guaranteed formula to the couple’s savings rate, market returns, taxes, and ability to avoid spending the invested payments.
Social Security’s 2032 Shortfall Changes the Debate
Social Security’s financing problem is real, but it should not be treated as proof that everyone must claim immediately. The 2026 Trustees Report projects that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will deplete its reserves in the fourth quarter of 2032, one quarter earlier than projected last year. At that point, continuing program income is projected to cover 78% of scheduled OASI benefits if Congress makes no changes. The combined retirement, survivor, and disability funds are projected to reach depletion in 2034 with 83% payable.
The report says the One Big Beautiful Bill Act reduces future trust-fund revenue by lowering income taxes collected on Social Security benefits. It also identifies lower fertility and immigration assumptions as negative factors, with the fertility revision the largest contributor to the wider long-term deficit. The projected 22% OASI shortfall is not an enacted benefit cut. For scale, 22% of today’s $2,071 average retirement benefit is about $456, not precisely $500, and benefit amounts in 2032 will be different.
Who Should Consider Claiming at 62?
Ramsey’s early-claiming strategy fits a narrower group than the original headline suggests. It may work for someone in poor health, someone with a family history of shorter lifespans, or a financially secure retiree who can invest every payment without relying on it for groceries, housing, or medical costs. Waiting may be more valuable for a healthy higher earner, a retiree with little savings, or a married worker whose benefit could later support a surviving spouse.
Social Security estimated the average retired-worker benefit at $2,071 for January 2026, making even a modest percentage difference meaningful over a retirement lasting 20 or 30 years. Before filing, retirees should compare their actual benefit estimates at 62, full retirement age, and 70, then model taxes, survivor income, portfolio withdrawals, and realistic investment returns. A claim is difficult but not always impossible to reverse. SSA generally allows one withdrawal within 12 months if all benefits are repaid, while beneficiaries who reach full retirement age may suspend payments to earn delayed credits.