(If you were born on January 1st, use the previous year to find your FRA.)

Medicare works on its own timeline, often starting around age 65 — or earlier for many SSDI recipients, after a waiting period. That's separate from when your SSDI check itself converts to retirement.

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Can I Start Retirement Early?

Yes — as early as age 62 — but claiming early permanently lowers your monthly payment. If your Full Retirement Age is 67, starting at 62 cuts your check by about 30%; starting at 66 cuts it by about 6.7%. If you change your mind, you can withdraw your application once, within the first 12 months, but you'll need to repay everything you've received up to that point in one lump sum.

 

Can I Work While on Early Retirement?​

Yes, but until you reach Full Retirement Age (FRA), Social Security limits how much you can earn without it affecting your check. For 2026, you can earn up to $24,480 a year before FRA without any reduction; above that, your benefit is reduced $1 for every $2 you earn over the limit. In the calendar year you reach FRA, the limit jumps to $65,160, with a gentler $1-for-every-$3 reduction. Once you actually reach FRA, the limit disappears entirely — you can then earn any amount without it affecting your retirement check amounts. Any months your benefit was reduced for excess earnings during that calendar year are later credited back into your benefit calculation.

 

What About SSI at Retirement Age?​

If you currently receive SSI, you're required to apply for Social Security retirement benefits at age 62 — SSI is a needs-based program, so you have to apply for any other benefit you might be eligible for. The good news is that your total monthly income usually doesn't drop: you can receive both retirement and SSI at the same time, with SSI making up the difference up to your SSI benefit level.

 

A Quick Example

If your retirement benefit works out to $600 a month, you'd receive $580 of that (after a small exclusion) plus $414 in SSI — bringing you to the full $994 SSI benefit level for 2026. The two pieces follow different rules behind the scenes: the retirement portion follows the early-retirement earnings limit, while the SSI portion still follows the regular SSI income and asset rules.

 

What If I Get Both SSDI and SSI?

If you receive both, SSDI continues on its own until you reach Full Retirement Age (FRA), at which point it converts to a retirement benefit of the same amount — you're not required to claim early retirement, so your full SSDI amount is protected until FRA. Your SSI portion continues to follow its own income and asset rules the whole time.

 

What Happens to My Health Coverage?

Which health coverage rules apply depends on which benefit(s) you have. If you have SSDI, Medicare continues through both early and full retirement. If you have SSI, Medicaid coverage and its asset limits keep applying once you start receiving retirement at 62. If you have both, both sets of rules apply together.​​