As of spring 2017, more than 40 million retired workers were receiving monthly Social Security benefits. Most of them were relying on Social Security for more than half their income.

The Social Security Administration determines your full retirement age based on your birth year. For example, the retirement age is 66 for people born in 1945, 66 and two months for people born in 1955, and 67 for people born in 1960 or later.

But you don’t have to wait until your full retirement age to claim ...