All that considered, claiming Social Security too early can shrink your retirement income by thousands of dollars a year. Many Americans seem unsure about when to start drawing from their benefits to supplement their income during their golden years.

In the beginning, the aims of Social Security were both noble and modest. “We have tried to frame a law,” said President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the signing of the Social Security Act, “which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.