[RP]

My understanding is that there is no correct answer and considerations as to whether applying as soon as you can versus waiting to max out is based on actuarial calculations and how long one will live. Clearly most of us have no idea how long we'll live. My father was a lifelong smoker and died in his early sixties - by comparison I'm 69. My mother lived with a lifelong smoker and died in her early 80s. Not much help for me, a lifelong non-smoker.

Most people will tell you to wait until you max out your potential monthly SSI benefits, and maybe I should have done that. However, I didn't. I retired at the age of sixty, worked part-time for a few years and then starting drawing SSI benefits so I could quit my part-time teaching job(s) and fully retire. For me, that was the right choice. For someone who loves their job or has the financial wherewithal to wait or plans to live a long time, the decision will probably be to wait for full SSI benefits...