If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age for Social Security is 67. For people born between 1943 and 1959, full retirement age by birth year lands somewhere between 66 and 66 and 10 months, rising in two-month increments. That age is the point at which you collect 100 percent of the benefit your earnings record entitles you to, with no reduction for claiming early and no credit for waiting.
Full Retirement Age Chart
- Born 1943–1954: 66
- Born 1955: 66 and 2 months
- Born 1956: 66 and 4 months
- Born 1957: 66 and 6 months
- Born 1958: 66 and 8 months
- Born 1959: 66 and 10 months
- Born 1960 or later: 67
For most working adults today, 67 is the number to plan around.1Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404.409 – What Is Full Retirement Age? Missing that target by even a few months means a permanently smaller monthly check, because any reduction for claiming early is baked in for life.
Why the Age Depends on Your Birth Year
Full retirement age used to be 65 for everyone. Congress raised it gradually as part of the 1983 Social Security Amendments to account for increasing life expectancy and keep the system solvent longer.2Social Security Administration. Social Security Amendments of 1983 The increase was phased in slowly, which is why people born just a year apart can have different full retirement ages, and why the schedule stops moving once you get to 1960.
Claiming Before Your Full Retirement Age
You can start collecting Social Security retirement benefits at 62, but the tradeoff is steep. For someone with a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 cuts the monthly benefit by 30 percent, and that reduction is permanent.3Social Security Administration. Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction A benefit that would have been $2,000 a month at 67 drops to roughly $1,400 at 62. The reduction shrinks the closer you get to full retirement age, but any claim before that date locks in some level of permanent cut.
Claiming early also triggers an earnings test if you keep working. In 2026, Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480 if you are under full retirement age for the entire year. In the year you reach full retirement age, the threshold is more generous: $1 withheld for every $3 earned above $65,160, and only earnings before the month you hit that age count.4Social Security Administration. Benefits Planner: Retirement – Receiving Benefits While Working
Money withheld through the earnings test is not gone for good. Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your benefit to credit you for the months it withheld payments, which raises your monthly check going forward.4Social Security Administration. Benefits Planner: Retirement – Receiving Benefits While Working The reduction for claiming early, however, is separate from the earnings test and stays permanent.
Waiting Past Your Full Retirement Age
Waiting past your full retirement age to claim earns you delayed retirement credits of 8 percent per year, accumulating monthly at two-thirds of 1 percent.5Social Security Administration. Delayed Retirement Credits The increase stops at age 70, so there is no benefit to waiting beyond that point. For someone with a full retirement age of 67, delaying to 70 means collecting 124 percent of the standard benefit for the rest of their life.
The decision between claiming early and delaying comes down to a break-even calculation. Claim at 62 and you collect smaller checks for eight extra years, so the total paid out is initially higher than if you had waited. The higher monthly amount from delaying eventually catches up, typically somewhere in your late 70s to early 80s depending on the exact numbers. People in good health with other income to bridge the gap tend to benefit most from waiting. Those facing serious health concerns or who simply need the money sooner often make a reasonable choice to claim early.
Full Retirement Age for Spouses and Survivors
The birth-year chart above governs your own retirement benefit. Spousal, ex-spousal, and survivor benefits run on related but separate timelines that catch a lot of people off guard.
Spousal Benefits
If your spouse has a higher earnings record, you can claim a spousal benefit starting at age 62. At your own full retirement age, the spousal benefit tops out at 50 percent of your spouse’s full-retirement-age benefit. Claiming it earlier reduces the amount.6Social Security Administration. Do You Qualify for Social Security Spouse’s Benefits? One detail that trips people up: even if your spouse delayed past their full retirement age and gets a larger check thanks to delayed credits, your spousal benefit is still capped at 50 percent of their full-retirement-age amount, not the higher delayed amount.
Divorced Spouse Benefits
If your marriage lasted at least 10 years, you are currently unmarried, and you are at least 62, you can claim benefits on your ex-spouse’s work record.7Social Security Administration. What Are the Marriage Requirements to Receive Social Security Benefits? Your ex does not need to have filed for benefits yet, and claiming on their record has no effect on what they or their current spouse receives.
Survivor Benefits
A surviving spouse can claim reduced survivor benefits as early as age 60. At that age, the payment starts at 71.5 percent of what the deceased spouse was receiving or was entitled to, and it increases the longer you wait, reaching 100 percent at your full retirement age for survivor benefits.8Social Security Administration. What You Could Get From Survivor Benefits Disabled surviving spouses can claim as early as age 50. Note that the full retirement age for survivor benefits is not identical to the one for your own retirement benefit; if you are close to that transition, check your specific date with the Social Security Administration.
Other Retirement Ages That Are Not Full Retirement Age
Full retirement age is a Social Security concept, and it does not govern the rest of your retirement calendar. Medicare eligibility begins at 65 on its own track, with a seven-month initial enrollment period and a Part B late-enrollment penalty of 10 percent per full 12 months missed that stays on your premium for as long as you have Part B.9Social Security Administration. When to Sign Up for Medicare Withdrawals from 401(k) and traditional IRA accounts become penalty-free at 59½, not at full retirement age.10Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions Required minimum distributions from tax-deferred accounts start at 73 for people born between 1951 and 1958, and rise to 75 starting in 2033 for those born in 1960 or later.11Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs Reaching your Social Security full retirement age does not by itself trigger any of these deadlines, and missing any of them carries its own penalty on its own schedule.
Taxes on Benefits Do Not Stop at Full Retirement Age
Reaching full retirement age does not shield your Social Security check from federal income tax. The thresholds that determine whether benefits are taxable were set in 1983 and have never been adjusted for inflation, so they catch more retirees every year. The calculation uses your “combined income,” which is adjusted gross income plus tax-exempt interest plus half of your Social Security benefits. Up to 50 percent of benefits become taxable once combined income passes $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 for a couple filing jointly; up to 85 percent become taxable above $34,000 single or $44,000 joint. Married filing separately while living with your spouse at any point during the year sets the base amount at zero, so some of your benefits are taxable regardless of income.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 86 – Social Security and Tier 1 Railroad Retirement Benefits Roughly eight states also tax benefits to varying degrees, though most exempt lower-income retirees or are phasing the tax out.