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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.
If you can't or don't want to wait until full Social Security retirement age, it's possible to begin collecting Social Security as early as age 62. While this may seem tempting, you should try to avoid it if possible. Your monthly benefit will be reduced by about 0.5% for every month you start collecting before full retirement age.