<prompt> Human: Ive always wondered this. Lets say you work until 65 lets assume then you get full benefits. If you file for SS at 62 you get paid a smaller amount. What happens if you quit working at but dont need the money from SS then wait to file until you hit 67 age at which benefits max out would you receive the amount earned at 67 or would you receive the amount earned at 62 since thats when you quit working?Edit: I read through the wiki and realize that for most of us 67 is the full benefits retirement age. Lets just assume the ages above since I cant change the title : Thanks!  <response>: When you quit working, your social security payment file is complete, and will be used to calculate your benefits. If you work longer you may increase your SS payments by having higher annual income years in your file. If you quit work at age 62 and file for SS then, your benefits will be lower than if you had waited till your full retirement age may be 65-67 depending on the year of your birth, which will be lower than if you waited till age 70 to file for benefits. Even if you work no more after age 62, your social security payments go up approximately 6-8 each year you delay filing, until age 70 waiting after age 70 does not increase your payment. The SS website can tell you exactly how much the payment increases for each year you wait to file even if not working. This is because social security assumes you will live until a certain age, and they base your payments on how many years of payments they will make until you reach that age -- the longer you wait to begin collecting payment up till age 70, the higher your annual payment will be because they calculate they will pay you for a smaller number of years - and on the average SS is correct, they dont lose money, their actuaries do the math right!. Of course, if you die before that certain age, you will have lost potential income, and if you live beyond that certain age, you will have gained income. You also need to take your spouse into account -- if you wait till age 70 to file even if you quit working at a much younger age, your annual SS payment will be higher, and so will the payment made to your wife if you die before her if her survivor benefit is greater than the benefit paid on her own SS account. This issue of maximizing social security income is rather complex, and there are entire books and websites and fee based advice sites that can help you make the decision correctly!edit: all of this may change in unpredictable ways given the current makeup of congress and presidency. elections have consequences! 