Here's how retiring early in America can hurt your Social Security checks — are you willing to take the hit?

Early retirement sounds appealing — who wouldn’t want to stop working earlier and enjoy the benefits or more control over your own schedule?

The downside is that you may not have the financial resources to pull it off, especially if you plan to rely heavily on Social Security benefits.

Don’t miss

The average monthly benefit for retired workers was $1,975.34 as of December, though the exact amount you receive could be higher or lower depending on factors like how many years you’ve worked and how much income you earned.

Age also plays a big role in how much you’ll receive — the earlier you start accepting checks, the lower your benefit could end up being.

In other words, retiring early can mean taking a massive hit to your Social Security. Here are three reasons why.

You’ve worked fewer than 35 years

Social Security benefits are calculated using what’s known as your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME), which is the average of a worker’s 35 highest-earning years. This number is then plugged into a formula that determines your primary insurance amount (PIA), or the benefit amount received based on full retirement age — which is 66 or 67 years old, depending on the year you were born.

If you retire before earning a paycheck for at least 35 years, your AIME could be substantially affected, as non-earning years are counted as zero.

Depending on how many years of work are missing, retiring early may result in receiving a lot less money per month in Social Security benefits.

Read more: I’m 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don’t panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast)

You claim benefits before full retirement age

A worker’s PIA reflects the benefit received at full retirement age, however, you can actually start claiming Social Security once you turn 62 years old. But doing so will reduce your benefit.

If you decide to claim benefits as soon as possible, you could receive a 30% reduction in benefits. For example, if the full amount you expected to receive was $2,500 each month, claiming benefits at 62 means you’d get $1,750 per month instead. That’s a difference of $750 a month for as long as you keep claiming benefits.

On the other hand, the amount you receive could go up the longer you delay claiming benefits. If you wait until after full retirement age, up until age 70, to claim, you can actually receive more than your PIA.

You’ve given up high-income years

A worker’s annual income typically goes up the longer they stay in the workforce. This is often due to earning promotions or finding higher-paying jobs. By retiring early, you could be losing out on the highest-earning years of your career.

So, even if you’ve worked at least 35 years, your AIME could potentially be much lower because it includes low-earning years. Since the calculation uses your 35 highest-earning years, some of those low years could have been erased if you didn’t retire early.

In other words, if you earn a higher salary now, working longer means the income you earn could override when you had a lower salary and bump up the average to increase your PIA.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.