Your full retirement age depends on when you were born
If you were born in 1959, your full retirement age — the age at which Social Security pays you 100 percent of your benefit — is 66 and 10 months. This is the age the Social Security Administration uses to calculate your standard monthly payment. You can claim earlier or later, but the amount you receive will be reduced or increased based on when you start.
The full retirement age has shifted over time because of changes Congress made to the Social Security program in 1983. People born in different years have different full retirement ages. For anyone born between 1943 and 1954, full retirement age was 66. For people born from 1955 onward, it gradually increased, adding two months for each birth year, until it reached 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
Knowing your full retirement age matters because it affects three separate decisions: when you can claim without a reduction, how much your monthly payment will be, and whether you face earnings limits if you work while collecting benefits.
Key Takeaways
- If you were born in 1959, your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months, and Social Security will pay your standard benefit amount at that age.
- You can claim as early as age 62, but your monthly payment will be permanently reduced by roughly 30 percent.
- You can delay claiming past your full retirement age until 70, and your monthly payment will increase by about 8 percent for each year you wait.
- If you claim before your full retirement age and continue working, Social Security will reduce your benefits based on your earnings until you reach full retirement age.
- The full retirement age chart is set by federal law and does not change year to year; your birth year determines your age permanently.
How the full retirement age chart is organized
The Social Security Administration publishes a chart that lists every birth year and the corresponding full retirement age. The chart starts with people born in 1943 (full retirement age 66) and continues through people born in 1960 and later (full retirement age 67). For birth years between 1943 and 1959, the full retirement age increases by two months for each year of birth.
To find your full retirement age, locate your birth year on the chart. If you were born in 1959, move across to the "Full Retirement Age" column and you will see 66 and 10 months. This number does not change. It is locked in based on your birth year and applies to all your Social Security decisions going forward.
The chart is straightforward because it reflects a single rule: Congress set the full retirement age to gradually increase from 66 to 67 over a 22-year period. Your birth year places you somewhere on that slope. The chart straightforward shows where.
What claiming early means for your payment
You can claim Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, which is four years and two months before your full retirement age if you were born in 1959. However, claiming early triggers a permanent reduction to your monthly payment. The reduction is not temporary — it applies to every payment you receive for the rest of your life.
The reduction amount depends on how many months early you claim. If you claim at 62 (48 months before your full retirement age), your payment is reduced by roughly 30 percent. If you claim at 63, the reduction is smaller. If you claim at 65, it is smaller still. The closer you get to 66 and 10 months, the smaller the reduction.
This trade-off exists because Social Security is designed to pay out roughly the same total amount over your lifetime, whether you claim early and receive smaller payments for longer, or wait and receive larger payments for fewer years. The break-even point — the age at which total lifetime benefits are roughly equal — typically falls in your early 80s, but this varies based on your health, family history, and other factors.
What claiming late means for your payment
You can delay claiming past your full retirement age of 66 and 10 months until age 70. For each year you wait past your full retirement age, your monthly payment increases by roughly 8 percent per year, or about 0.67 percent per month. If you wait from 66 and 10 months until 70, your payment will be approximately 24 percent higher than it would have been at your full retirement age.
Delayed claiming is most valuable if you expect to live into your mid-80s or beyond, or if you have other income sources that allow you to wait. It is also valuable if you have a spouse or ex-spouse who may receive benefits based on your record, because their benefits increase when yours do.
You cannot earn delayed retirement credits past age 70. If you reach 70 without claiming, your benefit amount stops increasing. There is no financial advantage to waiting past 70 to file.
Earnings limits if you work while receiving benefits
If you claim before your full retirement age of 66 and 10 months and continue working, Social Security will reduce your benefits based on your earnings. The reduction applies only until you reach your full retirement age; after that, you can earn any amount without a reduction.
For 2024, Social Security reduces your benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual earnings limit, which is $23,400. (This limit changes each year.) If you reach your full retirement age during the year, the reduction applies only to earnings before the month you reach that age, and the limit is higher for those months.
This earnings limit is separate from taxes. You may owe income tax on your benefits even if Social Security does not reduce them. The earnings limit is purely a Social Security rule that applies while you are below your full retirement age.
How your birth year affects spousal and survivor benefits
Your full retirement age also determines the full retirement age for anyone who receives benefits based on your Social Security record — a spouse, ex-spouse, or child. Their full retirement age is based on their own birth year, not yours, but your full retirement age affects how much they can receive.
If you delay claiming past your full retirement age, benefits for a spouse or ex-spouse who is at their own full retirement age will increase along with yours. If you claim early, their benefits are also reduced. Survivor benefits — payments to your family if you die — are calculated using your full retirement age as well.
These connections mean that the timing of your claim can affect multiple people's benefits. If you have a spouse or ex-spouse who may receive benefits on your record, it is worth understanding how your claiming age affects their payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my mind after I claim at 62?
You can withdraw your process within 12 months of claiming and repay all benefits you received. This resets your record as if you never claimed. After 12 months, you cannot withdraw, but you can suspend your benefits at your full retirement age and let them grow until 70. Suspension is different from withdrawal and has different rules about repayment.
Does my full retirement age change if I work longer?
No. Your full retirement age is determined by your birth year and never changes, regardless of how long you work or how much you earn. Working longer may increase your benefit amount because Social Security recalculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings, but it does not change your full retirement age of 66 and 10 months.
What if I was born on December 31, 1959?
Social Security uses the day before your birthday to determine your birth year for benefit purposes. If you were born on December 31, 1959, Social Security treats you as born in 1959, so your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. If you were born on January 1, 1960, your full retirement age is 67.
Is the full retirement age chart the same every year?
Yes. The chart is set by federal law and reflects the changes Congress made in 1983. Your full retirement age is locked in based on your birth year and does not change from year to year. However, other numbers — like the earnings limit and the bend points used to calculate your benefit — change annually.