When Should Attorneys Start Taking Social Security?

After decades of tracking your time in six-minute increments, the government has a question for you: when do you want to start getting paid to do nothing?

Social Security lets you claim benefits as early as 62 or as late as 70. That eight-year window represents a decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. And most people make it based on vibes, what their parents did, or a vague sense that they should "take the money while they can."

You didn't get through law school and years of BigLaw by winging major financial decisions. Don't start now.

The deal Social Security is offering you

Here's the basic trade-off, stripped of government jargon:

Claim early, get smaller checks forever. Claim later, get bigger checks forever. Die young, early claiming wins. Live long, delayed claiming wins.

The specifics:

Claim at 62: Your monthly check is permanently reduced by about 30% compared to waiting until full retirement age (67 for anyone born 1960 or later). If your full benefit would be $3,500 per month, you'll get roughly $2,450. Every month. For the rest of your life. No do-overs.

Claim at 67: You get exactly what the formula says. No penalty, no bonus.

Claim at 70: Your benefit increases by roughly 8% for every year you wait past 67. That $3,500 becomes about $4,340 per month. Also forever.

After 70, there's no additional reward for patience. The 8% annual bump stops.

The break-even question everyone asks

"But if I claim at 62, I get eight extra years of checks. Doesn't that add up?"

It does. For a while.

The break-even point between claiming at 62 versus 67 is around age 78 to 80. If you die before then, early claiming was technically the better financial move. If you live past 80, you would have come out ahead by waiting.

Comparing 67 to 70, the break-even is roughly 82 to 83.

Here's the thing about break-even analysis: it treats dying at 79 and dying at 95 as equally likely outcomes worth planning for. They're not. A 65-year-old woman today has a 50% chance of living to 87 and a 25% chance of hitting 92. If you're a health-conscious professional with good genetics and excellent healthcare, the odds tilt even further toward longevity.

You're not planning for the median outcome. You're planning for the possibility that you're still sharp, active, and spending money at 90. Running out of money at that age is a catastrophe. Leaving some on the table by delaying Social Security and dying at 77 is a rounding error your heirs won't even notice.

Why the math favors waiting (especially for you)

Generic Social Security advice is written for people who need the money to keep the lights on at 62. That's not you.

If you've spent years earning BigLaw money and saving aggressively, you have options most Americans don't. You can fund your early retirement from your portfolio while your Social Security benefit grows at a guaranteed 8% per year.

Let that sink in. Eight percent. Guaranteed. Inflation-adjusted. Backed by the ability of the U.S. government to tax people and print money.

Your bond portfolio isn't offering that. Neither is your dividend strategy. The stock market might beat 8% in a given year, but it might also drop 30%.

Delaying Social Security is essentially buying the world's safest annuity with an 8% annual return. The only catch is you have to stay alive to collect.

When claiming early isn't crazy

Delaying isn't always right. Sometimes grabbing the money makes sense.

Your health is genuinely poor. If you have a serious diagnosis or strong family history of early death, the break-even math shifts. No one gets a prize for leaving unclaimed benefits to the Social Security Administration.

You need the income to avoid portfolio catastrophe. If you retire at 62 into a brutal bear market and your portfolio is bleeding, taking Social Security can reduce how much you're selling at the worst possible time. A smaller guaranteed check beats selling stocks at a 40% loss.

You're single with no one depending on your survivor benefit. The spousal considerations below don't apply. If there's no one to inherit a larger benefit, your decision is purely personal.

You just really want the money. This isn't financially optimal, but it's your life. If claiming at 62 lets you travel while you're still healthy enough to enjoy it, and you've made peace with the trade-off, that's a valid choice. Just make it with open eyes.

Marriage makes everything more complicated (as usual)

If you're married, your claiming decision affects your spouse's financial future, possibly for decades after you're gone.

The spousal benefit: If your spouse's own Social Security benefit is low (maybe they took time out of the workforce, or worked in lower-paying jobs), they can claim up to 50% of your full retirement age benefit instead. Your $3,500 benefit means they can get $1,750, even if their own earnings history would only generate $900.

The survivor benefit: When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse can switch to the deceased spouse's benefit if it's larger. If you delay until 70 and lock in that $4,340 monthly check, your spouse can receive that amount for the rest of their life after you're gone.

This is where delaying becomes less about optimizing your own outcome and more about protecting someone you love.

If you're the higher earner and your spouse is likely to outlive you (statistically probable if she's female and/or younger), delaying your benefit is one of the most powerful ways to provide for her. You're not just maximizing your lifetime income. You're maximizing hers.

The coordination play

Smart couples don't make Social Security decisions in isolation. They coordinate.

A common strategy:

Higher earner delays until 70. This maximizes the larger benefit and locks in the highest possible survivor benefit.

Lower earner claims earlier. This brings income into the household while the higher earner waits, reducing the need to drain investment accounts.

That's not a small thing. That's the difference between a comfortable widowhood and a stressful one.

The trap for attorneys still working

If you claim Social Security before full retirement age while still earning income, the government claws some of it back.

In 2025, if you're under 67 for the whole year, you lose $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above $23,400.

If you're a partner still pulling in $800,000 a year, this math is brutal. You'd claim a reduced benefit and then have most of it withheld anyway. After reaching full retirement age, you get credit for those withheld benefits, but the whole exercise becomes pointlessly complicated.

The simple rule: if you're still working at anything close to BigLaw compensation, don't claim early. There's no upside.

Putting it all together

Social Security isn't the foundation of your retirement. If you've saved well, it's more like a nice bonus: $40,000 to $80,000 per year in guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income that shows up whether the market is up or down.

The question is how to maximize that bonus.

For most healthy, high-earning attorneys with solid portfolios: delay until 70. The guaranteed 8% return is nearly impossible to beat, and the enhanced survivor benefit protects your spouse.

For those with health concerns, immediate income needs, or no spouse to consider: earlier claiming might make sense, but run the numbers carefully.

And if you're married, remember that this isn't just about you. The decision you make at 62 or 67 or 70 determines what your spouse receives for the rest of their life if you die first.

That's worth an afternoon with a spreadsheet. Or a conversation with a financial advisor who understands the stakes.

You've spent your career helping clients navigate complex decisions with long-term consequences. This one's for you.