If you were born in 1960 or later, your Social Security full retirement age is 67. That is the age at which you can collect 100% of the benefit your earnings record has built. Claim any earlier and the monthly check is permanently smaller; wait past 67 and it grows by 8% a year until you turn 70. The average retired worker collects roughly $2,076 per month as of early 2026, but your own number depends almost entirely on when you file and what you earned.1Social Security Administration. Monthly Statistical Snapshot, April 2026
Who Actually Has a Full Retirement Age of 67
Federal law under 42 U.S.C. ยง 416(l) sets full retirement age by birth year. The threshold climbed in two-month steps as the law phased in: 65 for anyone born in 1937 or earlier, 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954, and 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 416 – Additional Definitions
Birth years 1955 through 1959 fall in the transition zone, with a full retirement age somewhere between 66 and 2 months and 66 and 10 months. The transition is now finished. Anyone who turned 62 in 2022 or later has a full retirement age of exactly 67. Eligibility runs off the birth date on file with the Social Security Administration, so it is worth confirming that record is correct before you plan around it.
What It Costs to Claim Before 67
You can file as early as 62, but the reduction is steep and permanent. Filing at 62 with a full retirement age of 67 means 60 extra months of checks and a 30% cut from what you would have received by waiting.3Social Security Administration. Early or Late Retirement
That reduction does not lift when you eventually turn 67. A full benefit of $2,000 at 67 drops to about $1,400 for life if you claim at 62. Cost-of-living adjustments still apply, but they compound on the smaller base. Early claiming can still be the right call if you need the income or have health concerns, but anyone with a cushion should know exactly what waiting is worth.
What You Gain by Waiting Past 67
Delayed retirement credits add 8% for each full year you wait beyond 67, accruing at two-thirds of 1% per month. The credits stop at 70, capping the total boost at 24%.4Social Security Administration. Delayed Retirement Credits
On the same $2,000 example, waiting to 70 pushes the monthly check to roughly $2,480. Over a 20-year retirement, that extra $480 a month totals more than $115,000. Delayed credits also raise the base that future cost-of-living adjustments are calculated on, so the gap between claiming at 67 and claiming at 70 widens with time. The 2026 COLA is 2.8%.5Social Security Administration. 2026 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet The tradeoff is straightforward: no income during the delay, in exchange for larger checks later.
Working After You Claim
The rules for working while collecting change sharply at 67. Before full retirement age, an earnings test temporarily withholds part of your benefit when wages exceed set limits. In 2026, the annual exempt amount is $24,480 for someone who will not reach full retirement age during the year, and $65,160 for someone who will. For every $2 above the lower threshold (or $3 above the higher one), Social Security withholds $1.6Social Security Administration. Exempt Amounts Under the Earnings Test
Once you reach 67, the earnings test disappears. You can earn any amount from wages, freelance work, or self-employment without a reduction in your Social Security check.7Social Security Administration. 20 CFR 404-0430 – Monthly and Annual Exempt Amounts Defined; Excess Earnings Defined
Payroll taxes are a different story. As long as you draw wages or self-employment income, you owe 6.2% for Social Security (up to the annual wage base) and 1.45% for Medicare, regardless of age or whether you are already collecting. There is no age-based FICA exemption.
Continued work has an upside. Social Security reviews your earnings record annually, and if a current year of wages displaces a lower-earning year in your top 35, the agency recalculates your benefit and pays the increase retroactive to January of the following year.8Social Security Administration. Receiving Benefits While Working
Medicare Still Starts at 65
This is where planning to retire at 67 trips people up. Medicare eligibility begins at 65, and the enrollment window does not wait for you to start Social Security. If you are already collecting Social Security at least four months before turning 65, enrollment in Part A and Part B happens automatically.9Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Original Medicare (Part A and B) Eligibility and Enrollment
Delaying Social Security to 67 means you are not receiving checks at 65, so nothing enrolls you automatically. You have to sign up yourself during the initial enrollment period around your 65th birthday. Miss it and you face a late enrollment penalty: your Part B premium increases 10% for every full 12-month period you could have been enrolled but were not, and the surcharge lasts as long as you have Part B.10Medicare. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
The exception is qualifying employer coverage through your own or a spouse’s current job. In that case you can delay Part B without penalty and enroll during a special enrollment period when the job-based coverage ends. Once both benefits are in place, Part B premiums come straight out of your Social Security payment.11Medicare. How to Pay Part A and Part B Premiums
Taxes on Your Benefits
Social Security income can be federally taxed. Whether yours is depends on your “combined income,” which is adjusted gross income plus nontaxable interest plus half of your Social Security benefits. The thresholds have never been indexed for inflation, so they catch more retirees each year:12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 86 – Social Security and Tier 1 Railroad Retirement Benefits
- Single filers with combined income between $25,000 and $34,000: up to 50% of benefits taxable. Above $34,000: up to 85%.
- Married filing jointly with combined income between $32,000 and $44,000: up to 50% taxable. Above $44,000: up to 85%.
- Married filing separately while living with your spouse: up to 85% taxable starting at $0.
“Up to 85% taxable” does not mean the government takes 85% of your check. It means 85% of your benefit is added to your taxable income and taxed at your ordinary rate. If you would rather have taxes withheld directly than make estimated payments, file IRS Form W-4V and pick 7%, 10%, 12%, or 22%.13Internal Revenue Service. Voluntary Withholding Request
Applying at or After 67
You can apply up to four months before you want payments to begin, which gives the agency time to process the claim and verify documents.14Social Security Administration. Timing Your First Payment You can file online at SSA.gov, by phone, or at a local field office. Have your Social Security number, birth certificate (original or certified copy), prior-year W-2 or self-employment return, bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit, and spouse and dependent information ready.15Social Security Administration. What Documents Do You Need to Apply for Retirement Benefits?
If You Are Already Past 67 When You File
Social Security can pay you retroactively for up to six months before your application date, but not for any month before you reached full retirement age. Turn 67 in January and file in October, and the agency can backdate payments to April, delivering a lump sum for those months.16Social Security Administration. 1513 Retroactive Effect of Application
There is a cost. Accepting the back pay forfeits the delayed retirement credits you would have earned during those months. File at 68 and take six months retroactive, and your ongoing check is calculated as if you had started at 67 and a half rather than 68. The lump sum is worth more to some people; keeping the higher monthly benefit for life is worth more to others, especially anyone in good health expecting a long retirement.