Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTVishesh RaisinghaniSat, June 27, 2026 at 12:45 PM GMT+2 5 min readStock Rocket/ ShutterstockMoneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.If you claimed Social Security as soon as you became eligible, you're in a pretty big club. Roughly 30% of beneficiaries of the program, as of 2024, made their first claim at age 62, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center (1).With the ongoing affordability crisis, it's easy to see why nearly one in three seniors sign up for monthly payments as soon as they become officially eligible. But for many of these early retirees, the decision to sign up for benefits at 62 can haunt them later.Top PicksDave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake —