Full retirement age will be 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later

The age at which you can claim your full Social Security benefit — the amount you earned based on your work record — is rising to 67 in 2026. This applies to people born in 1960 and after. If you were born in 1959 or earlier, your full retirement age is already set at 66 or lower and will not change. The shift happened gradually over decades: it started at 65 in the 1980s and has been creeping upward ever since, adding two months per birth year for those born between 1943 and 1954, then jumping to 66 for those born 1943–1954, and now reaching 67 for the 1960 cohort onward.

This does not mean you cannot claim Social Security before 67. You can claim as early as 62, but your monthly payment will be permanently reduced — roughly 30 percent less than your full amount. If you wait past 67, your benefit grows by about 8 percent per year until age 70, when it stops increasing. The full retirement age is simply the point where you get 100 percent of what you earned, with no reduction and no bonus.

Key Takeaways

  • Full retirement age reaches 67 in 2026 for people born in 1960 or later; those born before 1960 are not affected.
  • You can still claim at 62, but your monthly benefit will be about 30 percent lower for the rest of your life.
  • Waiting until 70 increases your monthly benefit by roughly 8 percent per year beyond your full retirement age.
  • Your full retirement age determines when you can claim without a reduction, but it does not determine when you should claim.

How the full retirement age has changed over time

Congress raised the full retirement age in 1983 as a long-term fix for Social Security's funding. The change was phased in slowly to give workers time to plan. Anyone born before 1938 had a full retirement age of 65. For those born between 1938 and 1942, it rose in two-month increments. From 1943 to 1954, it stayed at 66. Then it began rising again in two-month steps for those born 1955 through 1959, reaching 66 and 10 months. Starting with the 1960 birth cohort, it locks at 67 and stays there for everyone born after.

The reason for this gradual increase was life expectancy. When Social Security began in 1935, the average person did not live much past 65. 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 was one way to adjust the math without cutting benefits or raising payroll taxes dramatically.

What full retirement age means for your benefit amount

Your full retirement age is the threshold where you receive 100 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount — the benefit amount Social Security calculates based on your 35 highest-earning years. Claim before that age, and your benefit is reduced. Claim after it, and your benefit grows. The reduction for early claiming is permanent: if you claim at 62 when your full retirement age is 67, you lose roughly 30 percent of your benefit every month for the rest of your life, even after you turn 67.

The delayed retirement credits work the opposite way. For each year you wait past your full retirement age, your benefit increases by about 8 percent per year. At 70, you reach the maximum benefit — roughly 24 to 32 percent more than you would get at your full retirement age, depending on your exact birth date. After 70, the benefit does not increase further, so there is no financial reason to wait beyond that point.

How this affects people born in different years

If you were born in 1959, your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. If you were born in 1960, it is 67. If you were born in 1961 or later, it is also 67 — the law does not raise it any further. This means the oldest people affected by the 2026 change are those born in 1960, who will turn 66 in 2026 and reach their full retirement age of 67 in 2027.

People born before 1960 are not affected by the 2026 change because their full retirement age was already set by earlier legislation. If you were born in 1943 or later but before 1960, your full retirement age is somewhere between 66 and 66 and 10 months, and it will not change. You can look up your exact full retirement age on the Social Security Administration website or in your Social Security statement.

Claiming before 67: the trade-off between early benefits and lower payments

Many people claim at 62 because they need the money or want to stop working. The trade-off is real: you get payments sooner, but each payment is smaller, and the reduction lasts your entire life. If you live to an average age, the total amount you receive by age 80 or 85 is roughly the same whether you claimed at 62 or waited until 67. If you live longer than average, waiting pays more. If you die before 80, claiming early pays more.

Your health, family history, and financial situation all matter. If you have a serious illness, claiming early may make sense. If you are healthy, have savings, and can afford to wait, delaying usually results in a larger lifetime benefit. Some people split the difference and claim at 65 or 66, accepting a modest reduction to start receiving benefits before their full retirement age.

Waiting until 70: the delayed retirement credit strategy

Waiting until 70 is the highest-benefit strategy, but it requires you to have other income or savings to live on between your full retirement age and 70. The 8 percent annual increase adds up: someone with a full retirement age of 67 who waits until 70 receives about 24 percent more per month than they would at 67. For a benefit of $2,000 at 67, that is an extra $480 per month at 70 — a significant difference over a long retirement.

This strategy works best for people who are healthy, have family longevity, and do not need the money immediately. It also works well for married couples where one spouse has a much higher benefit, because the higher earner's delayed credits can increase survivor benefits for the lower-earning spouse if the higher earner dies first.

How working affects your Social Security benefit

If you claim before your full retirement age and continue working, Social Security reduces your benefit based on your earnings. In 2024, for every $2 you earn above a certain threshold, your benefit is reduced by $1. The threshold changes each year. Once you reach your full retirement age, the earnings limit no longer applies, and you can work as much as you want without any reduction to your benefit.

This is an important detail if you are thinking about claiming early but staying employed. You may receive little or no benefit for a year or two, which can change the math on whether claiming early makes sense. Talk to Social Security directly about your specific situation before you claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I still claim at 62 even though full retirement age is going to 67?

Yes. The earliest you can claim Social Security is 62, regardless of your full retirement age. Claiming at 62 when your full retirement age is 67 will reduce your benefit by about 30 percent for life. The full retirement age only determines when you get 100 percent of your benefit; it does not change the earliest or latest ages you can claim.

What is my full retirement age if I was born in 1959?

If you were born in 1959, your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. You will not be affected by the 2026 change to age 67. You can check your exact full retirement age in your Social Security statement or on the Social Security Administration website.

Does waiting until 70 always pay off financially?

Waiting until 70 pays off if you live into your mid-80s or beyond. If you die before then, claiming earlier would have resulted in more total benefits. The break-even point is roughly age 80 to 82, depending on your exact benefit amount. Your health and family history matter more than any general rule.

If I am still working at 67, do I have to claim Social Security?

No. You can keep working and delay claiming as long as you want, up to age 70 (or beyond, though your benefit stops increasing after 70). Many people work past their full retirement age and claim later to get a higher monthly benefit. There is no penalty for waiting.

How does my spouse's full retirement age affect my benefits?

Your spouse's full retirement age is separate from yours and is based on their own birth year. However, if you are married, you may be able to claim a spousal benefit based on your spouse's record, and that benefit also has a full retirement age. Spousal benefits are complex and depend on both spouses' ages and claiming decisions, so it is worth discussing with Social Security before you claim.