The full retirement age for Social Security benefits is rising, and the year you were born determines when yours takes effect
The age at which you can claim your full Social Security benefit — the amount the government calculates as your standard payment — is not the same for everyone. The law changed it starting in 1983, and the shift happens gradually based on your birth year. If you were born in 1943 or earlier, your full retirement age is 65. If you were born between 1943 and 1960, it increases by two months for each birth year. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.
This matters because claiming before your full retirement age reduces your monthly payment permanently, and claiming after it increases your payment. The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses your birth year to calculate both the reduction and the increase. Knowing your own full retirement age is the first step to understanding how much you will receive and when it makes sense for you to claim.
Key Takeaways
- Full retirement age ranges from 65 to 67 depending on your birth year, and the SSA has a table showing the exact age for your year of birth.
- Claiming before your full retirement age reduces your monthly payment by a percentage that depends on how many months early you claim.
- Claiming after your full retirement age increases your payment by 8 percent per year, up to age 70.
- Your full retirement age affects not only your own benefit but also the spousal and survivor benefits your family members may receive.
Birth Year and Full Retirement Age Table
The SSA publishes a straightforward table that shows your full retirement age based on the year you were born. The table starts at 1943 (age 65) and goes through 1960 and later (age 67). For birth years in between, the age increases in two-month increments.
| Birth Year | Full Retirement Age |
|---|---|
| 1943–1954 | 66 |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 or later | 67 |
You can find your exact full retirement age by looking up your birth year in this table. The SSA website includes an interactive tool that will calculate it for you if you enter your birth date. Knowing this number is essential before you decide when to claim.
How Claiming Early Reduces Your Payment
You can claim Social Security as early as age 62, but doing so before your full retirement age means a permanent reduction in your monthly benefit. The reduction is not small — it depends on how many months before your full retirement age you claim. If your full retirement age is 67 and you claim at 62, you lose roughly 30 percent of your benefit for life. If you claim at 65, the reduction is roughly 13 percent.
The SSA calculates the exact reduction based on the number of months between your claim date and your full retirement age. The longer you wait, the smaller the reduction. This reduction applies to your own benefit only; it does not directly affect what your spouse or children receive, though their benefits are calculated as a percentage of your primary insurance amount, which is your benefit at full retirement age.
How Claiming Late Increases Your Payment
If you delay claiming past your full retirement age, your benefit grows by 8 percent per year until you reach age 70. This is called delayed retirement credits. If your full retirement age is 67 and you wait until 70, you receive 24 percent more per month than you would have at 67. This increase is permanent and applies to all future payments, including any cost-of-living adjustments the SSA makes each year.
Delayed retirement credits stop accruing at age 70, so there is no financial benefit to waiting past that age to claim. The decision to delay is a trade-off: you receive less total money in the short term but more per month for the rest of your life. Whether this trade-off makes sense depends on your health, family history, and financial situation.
How Full Retirement Age Affects Your Family's Benefits
Your full retirement age is not just about your own payment. If you are married, your spouse may be able to claim a spousal benefit equal to up to 50 percent of your primary insurance amount — the benefit you would receive at your full retirement age. If your spouse claims before their own full retirement age, that 50 percent is reduced. Your children and your ex-spouse (if you were married at least 10 years) can also claim benefits based on your record, and their amounts are calculated as percentages of your primary insurance amount.
If you pass away, your survivors — spouse, children, and dependent parents — receive survivor benefits based on your primary insurance amount. The total amount all family members can receive is capped at roughly 150 to 180 percent of your primary insurance amount, depending on your age when you died. The higher your primary insurance amount, the more your family receives.
Why the Full Retirement Age Shifted
Congress raised the full retirement age in 1983 as part of a broader effort to keep Social Security solvent as life expectancy increased. When Social Security began in 1935, the full retirement age was 65, and the average person did not live much longer than that. By the 1980s, people were living significantly longer, which meant the program was paying benefits for more years than originally planned. Raising the full retirement age gradually was one way to adjust the program's finances without cutting benefits for people already retired.
The shift was designed to be gradual so that people born in different years would have time to plan. Someone born in 1943 still has a full retirement age of 66, while someone born in 1960 has a full retirement age of 67. This two-month-per-year increase gives each generation a slightly different target age.
Finding Your Full Retirement Age and Planning Your Claim
The SSA provides several ways to find your full retirement age. The easiest is to use the table above or visit ssa.gov and search for "full retirement age." You can also call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 to speak with a representative, though wait times can be long. If you create a my Social Security account on the SSA website, you can view your Social Security Statement, which shows your earnings history and estimates of your benefits at different claim ages.
Once you know your full retirement age, you can use the SSA's benefit calculator to see how much you would receive if you claimed at 62, at your full retirement age, or at 70. This tool shows the trade-offs in concrete numbers. Many people find it helpful to run these calculations a few years before they plan to claim, so they have time to think through the decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim Social Security before my full retirement age?
Yes, you can claim as early as age 62. Your payment will be permanently reduced based on how many months before your full retirement age you claim. The reduction is roughly 30 percent if you claim at 62 and your full retirement age is 67.
Does my full retirement age affect when I have to start taking benefits?
No. You can delay claiming past your full retirement age and earn delayed retirement credits (8 percent per year) until age 70. You are not required to claim at any particular age, though there are other rules about when you must start withdrawing from retirement accounts.
If I was born in 1955, what is my full retirement age?
Your full retirement age is 66 and 2 months. You can claim as early as 62, at your full retirement age, or delay until 70 to earn a higher payment.
Does my spouse's full retirement age have to match mine?
No. Your spouse has their own full retirement age based on their birth year. Their spousal benefit is calculated as a percentage of your primary insurance amount (your benefit at your full retirement age), but their own reduction or increase depends on when they claim relative to their own full retirement age.
What happens to my family's benefits if I die before claiming?
Your family members can still receive survivor benefits based on your earnings record. The amount they receive is based on your primary insurance amount — the benefit you would have received at your full retirement age — not on when you actually claimed or would have claimed.