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A. You can. Social Security will accept your application for early benefits when you're 61 years 9 months. Regardless of how old you are, the agency generally recommends that you apply three months before you would like the first payment to arrive.
Furthermore, if you decide to file for Social Security as early as possible, then you can't sign up for Medicare at the same time because eligibility doesn't start for another three years. That said, if you're already collecting Social Security income by the time you turn 65, you'll typically become enrolled in Medicare automatically.