Sun Aug 17 2025, by Tyler Gardner

Why I’m Taking My Social Security at 62

I’m Tyler, a former financial advisor and portfolio manager. Now I make financial content for free so you don't have to pay for it.

1. The Cycle of Saving

From the day you learned what money was, you were told to save it. Don't touch it, don't spend it; save it for a rainy day. Emergency fund, retirement account, and you better take Social Security as late as you can. So tell me, seriously, when does it end? At what point are we allowed to stop optimizing for the 147-year-old version of ourselves that we may or may not see?

2. The Value of Early Benefits

Most people seem to overlook this. The amount you receive in your monthly Social Security check means nothing—zero. Yes, it's bigger at 70 than it will be at 62, but if you take it at 70, you miss out on eight years of payments, potential compound growth, and the opportunity to live the life you were told one day you were supposed to live.

Conclusion

If you can challenge either of those ideas in a rational way, please let me know in the comments where I've gone wrong because it feels like I'm taking crazy pills! And if you want to explore this topic in more depth, check out this week's episode of the podcast by clicking the link in my bio, and we’ll figure it out together.

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