Planning to Claim Social Security in 2026? 3 Things to Do Ahead of Time.

Key Points

• Before you claim Social Security, make sure you know what benefit you're eligible for.

• If you're filing early, make certain you understand what reduction you're looking at.

• Review your savings progress to help make a more informed Social Security filing decision.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

At this stage of the year, a lot of people are gearing up for the start of school or the fall season and all of the nice things that tend to come with it. But you may be looking ahead to 2026 and making some financial plans for the new year.

One of those plans might be to claim Social Security. But if so, it's important to go in prepared. Here are three things to do in the coming months if you're convinced you'll be claiming Social Security in 2026.

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1. See what monthly benefit you're eligible for

The monthly benefit you're entitled to from Social Security is based on your earnings history. And there's really no reason for that benefit to be a mystery to you.

All you need to do is create an account on the Social Security Administration's website and take a look at your most recent earnings statement. It will give you an estimate of your monthly benefit so you know how much money to expect, with the understanding that your filing age could change that number -- for better or for worse.

2. Understand the repercussions if you're filing early

If you're turning 62 in 2026, it means you're old enough to claim Social Security. But that doesn't mean it's the right time to sign up for benefits.

If you don't wait until full retirement age to do so, you'll reduce your benefits on a permanent basis. Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

Of course, you may be planning to claim Social Security early knowing you'll be looking at a reduced benefit. But make sure to run the numbers to understand what that means.

For each year you claim Social Security ahead of full retirement age, your benefits are reduced by roughly 6.67% for the first three years and then by 5% for each year thereafter.

So if your full retirement age is 67, here's what claiming early looks like:

• Age 62: 30% reduction.
• Age 63: 25% reduction.
• Age 64: 20% reduction.
• Age 65: 13.34% reduction.
• Age 66: 6.67% reduction.

It's also worth noting that Social Security is facing the possibility of broad benefit cuts in under a decade. Before you claim benefits early, or even on time, consider that they may be reduced further by about 20% if the program ends up having to slash benefits universally.

3. Assess your savings to see how much Social Security you'll need

It's hard to make an informed Social Security filing decision without seeing what your nest egg looks like -- and how much annual and monthly income it will provide you with. To that end, before claiming benefits, you should do two things:

First, see what your savings balance looks like. From there, figure out what withdrawal rate you're comfortable with, and see what annual and monthly income that gives you.

Let's say you're sitting on $800,000 in savings and decide you're comfortable withdrawing 4% per year. That's an annual income of $32,000, or a monthly income of about $2,667, not accounting for inflation adjustments.

It's important to have this information to see how much Social Security income you need to pay your bills. If you expect your retirement expenses to be $5,000 a month, it means you'll need about $2,333 monthly from Social Security.

If you're eligible for a monthly benefit of $2,400 at full retirement age, you should be set. But in that case, you wouldn't want to file for benefits early.

If 2026 is the year you're convinced you'll file for Social Security, take these steps ahead of time to feel more confident in your decision and to make sure you're not claiming benefits at the wrong time.

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