What You Can Earn From Social Security at 62 in 2026: A Complete Breakdown

Understanding Early Retirement Benefits and Your Potential Income

The Social Security Administration just announced its 2026 cost-of-living adjustment at 2.8%, which means every beneficiary will see their payments grow accordingly. But here’s what catches most people’s attention: how much can you earn if you retire at 62? The answer depends on your lifetime earnings history and the choices you make about when to claim.

If you’re thinking about retiring early, you need to understand the numbers behind your potential monthly payments. At age 62, you can access Social Security benefits, but the trade-off is significant—your monthly amount will be permanently reduced by approximately 30% compared to waiting longer.

The 2026 Maximum Social Security Payment Schedule

Your benefit amount depends entirely on when you decide to start collecting. Here’s what the maximum monthly payments look like in 2026:

At Age 62: $2,969 per month
At Age 67: $4,207 per month
At Age 70: $5,251 per month

The difference between claiming at 62 versus 70 is substantial—over $2,200 per month, or nearly $26,400 annually. This dramatic gap explains why timing your claim is one of the most important retirement decisions you’ll make.

The Income Requirements for Maximum Benefits

To receive these maximum amounts, you must meet a strict earnings requirement. The Social Security wage base limit for 2026 is $184,500—meaning you need to earn at least this amount each year to maximize your contribution record.

Here’s the reality: you need to have earned at or above the wage base limit for 35 years to qualify for the maximum benefit. This is the SSA’s calculation window. If you have gaps in your earnings history, those missing years count as zeros in the calculation, automatically disqualifying you from maximum benefits.

Looking back at recent wage base limits shows how this threshold has climbed:

• 2025: $176,100
• 2024: $168,600
• 2023: $160,200
• 2022: $147,000
• 2021: $142,800
• 2020: $137,700
• 2019: $132,900
• 2018: $128,400
• 2017: $127,200
• 2016: $118,500

If any of these years fall within your highest-earning 35 years, you would have needed to exceed those amounts to qualify for the maximum payout.

How Social Security Calculates Your Specific Benefit Amount

The calculation process is systematic, though the details are complex. Here’s the simplified version:

Step One: The SSA identifies your 35 highest-earning years and adjusts them to today’s dollar values. If you have fewer than 35 working years, the remaining slots are filled with zeros.

Step Two: These 35 adjusted annual amounts are averaged and divided by 12 months to determine your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME).

Step Three: The agency applies adjustment factors (called bend points) to your AIME figure to arrive at your primary insurance amount—the base benefit you’d receive at your full retirement age.

The fundamental principle is straightforward: higher lifetime earnings equal higher Social Security payments, up to the wage base cap each year.

The Early Claiming Penalty at Age 62

Choosing to retire at 62 comes with a permanent reduction to your benefits. This isn’t temporary—it applies to every check you receive for the rest of your life. At age 62, you’re claiming roughly 30 years before age 92, which is why the SSA reduces your payment.

Your full retirement age (FRA) determines the exact penalty. For anyone born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67. Claiming seven years early means accepting approximately 35% of what you’d receive at 67 in our example, the difference between $2,969 and $4,207 monthly.

However, if you delay beyond your full retirement age, the opposite happens: your benefits grow by about 2/3 of 1% every month you wait. Someone waiting from age 67 to 70 would see roughly a 24% increase in their monthly payment.

What Most Retirees Don’t Know About Social Security Strategy

The majority of Social Security claimants won’t qualify for maximum benefits. The combination of earning at least the wage base limit for 35 consecutive years is simply out of reach for many workers. However, even if you don’t hit the maximum, optimizing your claiming age remains one of the most powerful moves you can make.

The question isn’t just “how much can you earn if you retire at 62?”—it’s whether claiming early aligns with your overall retirement strategy. Some people break even by their early 80s when claiming early, while others benefit significantly from waiting. Your health, life expectancy, other income sources, and household situation all factor into the equation.

For 2026, knowing these benefit amounts and the underlying calculations gives you a clearer picture of what Social Security can contribute to your retirement income. Whether you’re eligible for the maximum or receiving a more modest benefit, the timing of your claim will shape your financial security for decades to come.