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It’s one of the most important questions that Americans have to answer as they near retirement: What age should you start collecting Social Security benefits?

Experts typically advise that you should wait as long as possible to start claiming your benefits.

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But some social media “finfluencers” are flipping the script, saying that you’ll get more cumulative benefits if you start collecting as soon as possible.

“Taking Social Security at 62 is a no-brainer,” says Certified Financial Planner and Wall Street vet (1) Taylor Sohns (2) in a video viewed more than two million times on Facebook.

“The wait until 70 advice is not as smart as people think,” argues Tyler Gardner, a former financial advisor and portfolio manager with over two million followers, in a recent Instagram post (3).

While you can start receiving benefits at age 62, those benefits will be reduced by a percentage that’s based on how far you are from your full retirement age (FRA) (age 66 or 67), depending on your birth year (4).

Once you reach your FRA, you’ll receive your full benefit. But if you delay taking benefits even past your FRA, you will receive an additional 8% increase for each year you delay until age 70 (5).

If you start receiving benefits before your FRA, the reduction in your benefit amount is permanent (6).

So, why are financial influencers urging people to take their benefits as soon as possible?

Sohns, however, bases much of his reasoning on a “break-even age,” which is the age when you’ll have received more total income by delaying than if you had started at 62 (7).

“If I add up all the payments, I wouldn’t break even by waiting to full retirement age until I’m 79 years old. And the average American dies at 78,” Sohns says in his October Facebook post.

Gardner also points to the issue: “For me, that crossover happens at 80 years old… So then I checked my expected life expectancy. It’s around 82. So the entire argument for waiting comes down to maximizing three years of more income, sacrificing closer to 18 (3).”

In Gardner’s view, “Nobody attaches the appropriate weight to spending more money in your 60s when you're physically and mentally far more apt to enjoy what money can actually buy.”

A CNBC report does echo the break-even age, saying it “typically falls in the late 70s or early 80s.” It adds that the Social Security Administration (SSA) used to provide a break-even analysis for those calculating when to start their benefits, but it stopped doing so in 2008 because of “concerns from within the agency, as well as from external stakeholders and researchers, that it may distort claiming decisions.”

But experts say the break-even age leaves out other important considerations you should make when deciding when to claim.

“I continue to think a break-even analysis is the wrong framing for considering when to take Social Security retirement benefits,” said Jason Fichtner, a former SSA executive whose roles included acting deputy commissioner and chief economist.

Fichtner told CNBC that by waiting until age 70, you’d receive a 77% larger monthly benefit than if you had started at 62.

Instead of using the break-even framing, Fichtner said that “Another way of framing this discussion is to realize that claiming at any age before age 70 is a penalty.”

There's no universal "best age" to claim Social Security. Ultimately, it comes down to your personal goals, health outlook, and overall retirement income plan. While some retirees choose to start collecting benefits as soon as they're eligible, others may find that waiting pays off through larger monthly checks later in life.

Because the tradeoffs can be significant, it's worth getting professional guidance before making a decision. A financial advisor can help weigh the pros and cons of each approach and determine the claiming strategy that best fits your situation.

That can be especially valuable for households with more than $250,000 in savings, where the timing of Social Security benefits could influence the amount of financial flexibility you have throughout retirement.

You can find a reputed FINRA/SEC-registered advisor near you for free through WiserAdvisor.

All you have to do is answer a few simple questions about your savings, retirement timeline and overall investment portfolio. From there, WiserAdvisor will review its network and match you with up to three vetted, reputable advisors aligned to your specific needs.

WiserAdvisor does the heavy lifting when vetting financial advisors on its roster. Each advisor is screened based on their years of experience, their SEC/FINRA registration and records, and compensation criteria.

Just schedule a no-obligation consultation with your matches to find the best fit for your long-term goals.

Note: WiserAdvisor is a matching service and does not provide financial advice directly. All matched advisors are third parties and specific financial results are not guaranteed.

A deeper understanding of how Social Security works can go a long way toward maximizing your lifetime benefits.

Trusted organizations like AARP provide tools and insights that can help you fine-tune your Social Security strategy so you’re not leaving money on the table.

AARP can also help you choose the right Medicare plan and uncover other government benefits that can make retirement easier.

Membership perks also go well beyond advice. Members gain access to a broad suite of cost-saving perks — from healthcare-related discounts on prescriptions and dental services to savings on travel, leisure and insurance products.

Sign up with AARP today to get 25% off your first year.

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Guidance from the SSA about what to consider when it comes to starting your benefits states that “retirement may be longer than you think,” which is a key reason that experts advise waiting to start your benefits, if you are able (8).

If you simply look at your break-even age and compare it to the average life expectancy in the U.S., it could convince you that you should start your benefits as soon as you’re able; life expectancy for men is 76.5 years and for women it’s 81.4 years, so if your break-even age is in your late 70s, it could seem like a no-brainer to not wait (9).

But, according to the SSA, about one in three Americans who were 65 in 2024 will live until at least age 90, and 1 in 7 will live until at least age 95 (8).

If you shift your view on Social Security benefits, thinking of them as “valuable protection against outliving savings and other sources of retirement income,” as the SSA puts it, the risk of starting early may become clearer.

Certified financial planner Joe Elsasser told CNBC that only focusing on your break-even age can mean that you’re not considering your full financial plan, including tax implications and the rest of your retirement portfolio.

Elsasser also said that for married couples where one person is a higher earner, they “really should not use break-even as a decision point,” because it could lead to a situation where the lower-earning spouse is left with a much smaller survivor benefit.

When you start your Social Security benefits is a highly personal decision that should be based on your specific circumstances — your health, your current and future income needs, your family situation and more.

Although some finfluencers might say starting at 62 is the best decision, the right move will ultimately be making an informed decision based on your own personal situation.

For many Americans, Social Security serves as the backbone of retirement income. But depending on it as your only source of financial support may be risky. According to the latest projections from Social Security Trustees, the retirement trust fund is estimated to be depleted by 2032, which could result in an immediate 24% benefit cut (10).

That's why building supplemental savings is crucial. Consistently setting aside even modest amounts can make a meaningful difference over time. For example, investing just $20 per week for 30 years could grow to more than $179,000, assuming it compounds at 10% annually (11).

If those kinds of returns are too tempting to pass up, platforms like Acorns allow you to turn your spare change from everyday purchases into an investment opportunity.

Signing up for Acorns takes just minutes: All you have to do is link your cards, and Acorns will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar, investing the difference — your spare change — into a diversified portfolio managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.

If you opt for the Acorns Gold plan, you can get access to Acorns Later, a retirement investment account that offers a 3% match on new contributions. The Acorns Silver plan offers a 1% match on new contributions.

With Acorns, you can invest in an index ETF with as little as $5 — and, if you sign up today and set up a recurring investment, Acorns will add a $20 bonus to help you begin your investment journey.

— with files from Rebecca Payne

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U.S. News & World Report(1); Meta(2); Instagram(3); Social Security Administration(4),(5),(8); AARP(6); CNBC(7); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(9); The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (10); Acorns (11)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.