“Those who withdraw early will have their benefits reduced by up to 30%”
not right away and only if you live long enough ... Early withdrawal of Social Security means claiming benefits before your Full Retirement Age (FRA). For anyone born before 1960, your FRA is between 66 and 67. Claiming early withdrawal permanently reduces your monthly check approximately .5%/year for each year withdrawn before FRA, whereas waiting until FRA—or up to age 70—maximizes your payout.
the main problem with waiting the extra years prior FRA to maximize your payout is that you may be too ill or disabled to enjoy that extra bit; in fact, you may be too ill or disabled to enjoy any of it ...
Or dead, and you’ll never see that full payout.