Retirement Social Security

Don’t Claim Social Security at 62 Until You Hear Dave Ramsey’s Advice

What Dave Ramsey says about claiming at 62.

By David Maina

Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Dec. 24, 2025

Age 62 is the most common age at which Americans claim Social Security. It's the first moment the door opens, and for many people, the idea of starting checks right away feels like relief. But that decision comes with permanent trade-offs that don't always show up until years later.

Dave Ramsey often challenges the traditional advice around claiming Social Security, especially when it comes to filing early. His perspective focuses less on maximizing the government check and more on how Social Security fits into your broader financial picture.

Before you lock in a decision you can't easily undo, it's worth understanding exactly what Dave Ramsey says about claiming Social Security at 62, and how his view fits into a realistic retirement plan.

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Dave Ramsey's core advice on claiming early

Dave Ramsey isn't categorically opposed to claiming Social Security at 62. What he cautions against is filing early without a clear plan for how that income fits into the rest of your retirement.

As Ramsey's team notes, "Once you start receiving your benefits, there's no going back." You can't change your mind later and switch to a higher check. Filing early locks in a reduced benefit for life, which is why Ramsey urges people to slow down before claiming.

Where Ramsey departs from more traditional advice is his openness to age 62 in certain situations.

He has repeatedly said that taking benefits early can make sense if you have a strategy for the money. As he bluntly puts it, "Your retirement payments die when you die … so you might as well take the money and make the most of it while you can."

In his view, if you don't live a long life, waiting means you may never collect much at all. Even for people with average life expectancy, Ramsey points out that no one can predict the future at 62. From his perspective, getting the money sooner and using it intentionally can reduce uncertainty.

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More checks now versus bigger checks later

Dave Ramsey often frames the decision as a trade-off between time and size. If you claim at 62, you get more years of payments, and if you wait, you get larger payments for fewer years. Which approach delivers more total money depends almost entirely on how long you live.

Ramsey's team has run the math using average life expectancy. Assuming someone lives to about 77½, they found that claiming early can come out slightly ahead.

In one Ramsey Solutions example, a person who starts benefits at 62 collects roughly $189,000 by age 77.5, compared with about $180,000 for someone who waits until 67. At an average lifespan, the early filer edges out the late filer in cumulative dollars.

As he puts it, "those five extra years of checks" give you money you can use, save, or invest sooner. Ramsey has even said, "It usually makes sense to take it early if you're going to invest every bit of it," arguing that years of smaller checks, if invested wisely, could grow into more wealth than waiting for bigger payments later.

But there's an important catch. If you live longer than average, the equation flips. Most break-even analyses show that somewhere in your early 80s, the person who delayed benefits begins to pull ahead in total lifetime income. From that point on, every additional year favors the later claim.

If you're healthy at 62 and come from a long-lived family, claiming early could mean leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table over time. In those cases, locking in a reduced benefit may cost far more than it's worth.

Social Security should be only one part of your retirement plan

One point Dave Ramsey often returns to is that Social Security was never meant to carry your retirement by itself.

As Ramsey's team puts it, "Any money you get from Social Security should be considered icing on the cake. But making Social Security the main ingredient of your retirement plan? That's a recipe for disaster." Even at its maximum, the program was designed to replace only a portion of your working income, not fully fund your lifestyle.

The numbers help explain why. As of 2025, the average retirement benefit is about $1,976 per month, or roughly $23,700 a year.

For many households, that barely covers basic expenses. According to the Social Security Administration, 12% of men and 15% of women over 65 depend on Social Security for 90% or more of their income, leaving them highly exposed to rising costs and unexpected expenses.

Ramsey's alternative is to focus early on personal savings. His Baby Steps plan calls for investing 15% of your income into retirement accounts, such as a 401(k) and a Roth IRA, once you're out of debt and have an emergency fund in place.

This way, Social Security can supplement what you've already built, rather than determine whether your budget works at all.

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Bottom line

Before claiming Social Security at 62, pause long enough to understand the trade-off. Early filing locks in a smaller check for life, and Social Security alone rarely supports a full retirement. Make sure debt is manageable, and you have a real income plan beyond the monthly benefit.

If your health, income needs, and plans support an early claim, you can move ahead knowing you've made a choice that helps you retire comfortably and avoid regrets later.

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