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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.
Applications for Social Security benefits can only be processed a maximum of four months before benefits are scheduled to begin. Thus, the earliest you can apply is age 61 and nine months, and you can expect to receive your first payment four months later, the month after your birthday.