--- title: Social Security Mistakes People Make in Their 50s description: Social Security planning should begin before age 62. Here are five mistakes people make in the 50s related to the government benefits. authors: - name: Marc Guberti url: https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/ bio: Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who hosts Breakthrough Success, a podcast where he teaches listeners how to grow their businesses and achieve personal transformations. at_money_since: 2024 articles: 444 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes published: '2026-10-23T14:00:45.000Z' section: Retirement word_count: 567 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Explainer-Social-Security-Mistakes-Early](https://img.money.com/2026/10/Explainer-Social-Security-Mistakes-Early.jpg) You can claim Social Security as soon as you turn 62, but the actual planning should start earlier. In your 50s, Social Security decisions should start to take shape. Delaying too long or not gathering the right information can result in a claiming decision that costs thousands of dollars later. These are some common Social Security mistakes people make in their 50s. ## Mistake 1: Never checking your earnings record The earnings history recorded in your “my Social Security” account may have errors. It’s best to get these mistakes fixed while you are working with your current employer. That’s when it is easier to obtain any missing records compared to giving your boss a call shortly after you retire. It’s also better to get these issues resolved early than it is to wait for them to get resolved at a time when you need to claim Social Security to keep up with living expenses. ## Mistake 2: Assuming you'll claim at 62 Although you can claim Social Security at 62, that doesn’t mean it’s the right move. You will get up to a permanent 30% reduction on your full retirement benefit if you claim that early. Plus, working a few extra years can improve your earnings history and give you the opportunity to pad your savings. The Social Security Administration reviews your 35 highest-earning years when calculating your benefit. Working a little longer replaces some of your low-earning years with higher-earning years. That can work to your favor when Social Security averages out your 35 most productive working years. ## Mistake 3: Retiring early without counting zero years If you have not worked for 35 years, any missing years count as $0 and will weigh down your average. Some people work until they have 35 years that show income. Doing so can secure a higher Social Security benefit, and those extra years of working also result in your unclaimed benefit gradually increasing over time. ## Mistake 4: Ignoring spousal and survivor rules Social Security planning gets a little more complicated for couples. If one of the spouses did not work, they can still claim spousal benefits, which can be up to 50% of the working spouse’s full retirement benefit. The non-working spouse can only claim Social Security after the working spouse has claimed their benefit. There is no incentive for the non-working spouse to wait after full retirement age since the spousal benefit does not compound after full retirement age. Regular benefits continue to grow if left unclaimed until the recipient turns 70. Survivor rules are another factor. When a spouse passes away, the surviving spouse can get up to 100% of that spouse’s benefit if it’s higher than their current benefit. If the working spouse had a non-working spouse, it may make sense for the working spouse to claim benefits at 70 to maximize the survivor benefit. It’s best to make a plan with your spouse in advance rather than scramble to come up with a plan as you both approach full retirement age or to do the planning on your own. ## Mistake 5: Assuming that Social Security is disappearing Social Security’s trust funds are [expected to be depleted](https://money.com/social-security-insolvency-2034-benefit-cuts/) in 2034. That doesn’t mean benefit checks would go away completely. It means that if Congress doesn’t act to address the funding shortfall, retirement and disability payments would be cut by 17% , according to the latest Social Security Trustees report. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social Security Mistakes People Make in Their 50s" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/", "name": "Social Security Mistakes People Make in Their 50s", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-10-23T14:00:45.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-mistakes-in-your-50s/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Social Security Mistakes People Make in Their 50s", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/10/Explainer-Social-Security-Mistakes-Early.jpg", "width": 1996, "height": 1245, "caption": "Explainer-Social-Security-Mistakes-Early" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marc Guberti", "url": "https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/marc-guberti/#author", "description": "Marc Guberti is a personal finance writer who hosts Breakthrough Success, a podcast where he teaches listeners how to grow their businesses and achieve personal transformations.", "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2026-10-23T14:00:45.000Z", "description": "Social Security planning should begin before age 62. 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