Your full retirement age depends on your birth year

The age at which you receive your full Social Security benefit — called your full retirement age or normal retirement age — is not 65 for most people today. It ranges from 66 to 67, depending on when you were born. The Social Security Administration set this schedule decades ago and it applies to everyone claiming retirement benefits.

If you were born between 1943 and 1954, your full retirement age is 66. If you were born between 1955 and 1960, it falls somewhere between 66 and 67, increasing by two months for each year of birth. If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. This age is fixed — it does not change based on economic conditions or policy shifts.

Reaching your full retirement age matters because it determines the amount you receive each month. If you claim before this age, your monthly payment is permanently reduced. If you delay claiming past this age, your monthly payment increases.

Key Takeaways

  • Full retirement age ranges from 66 to 67 depending on your birth year, and the Social Security Administration has a published table showing the exact age for your birth date.
  • Claiming before your full retirement age reduces your monthly benefit permanently, while claiming after increases it by roughly 8 percent per year until age 70.
  • You can claim as early as age 62, but the reduction is steeper the earlier you claim — someone born in 1960 claiming at 62 receives about 30 percent less per month than at 67.
  • If you continue working past your full retirement age and have not yet claimed, your benefit amount may increase through a process called delayed retirement credits.

How your birth year determines your full retirement age

The Social Security Administration publishes a table that matches your birth date to your full retirement age. The table begins with people born in 1943 (full retirement age 66) and ends with people born in 1960 or later (full retirement age 67). For birth years in between, the age increases by two months per year.

For example, if you were born in January 1955, your full retirement age is 66 and 2 months. If you were born in January 1958, your full retirement age is 66 and 8 months. This gradual increase was built into the law to phase in the change from age 65 to age 67 over time.

You can find your exact full retirement age on the Social Security Administration website or by calling their toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213. Having this number matters because it is the baseline for all other decisions about when to claim.

What happens if you claim before your full retirement age

You can claim Social Security as early as age 62, but claiming before your full retirement age means a permanent reduction in your monthly benefit. The reduction is not temporary — it applies to every payment you receive for the rest of your life.

The exact reduction depends on how many months early you claim. If your full retirement age is 67 and you claim at 62, you lose roughly 30 percent of your benefit amount. If you claim at 65, you lose roughly 13 percent. The reduction is steeper the earlier you claim because the Social Security Administration assumes you will receive payments over a longer period.

There is no way to undo this reduction later. You cannot claim early, receive reduced payments for a few years, and then switch to a higher amount at your full retirement age. The reduction is permanent.

What happens if you delay claiming past your full retirement age

If you do not claim at your full retirement age, your benefit amount increases for each year you delay, up until age 70. This increase is called a delayed retirement credit, and it adds roughly 8 percent to your monthly benefit for each year you wait.

If your full retirement age is 67 and you delay until 70, your monthly benefit is about 24 percent higher than it would be at 67. If you delay until 72, it is about 32 percent higher. After age 70, the benefit no longer increases, so there is no financial advantage to delaying past that point.

Delayed retirement credits only explore if you have not yet claimed. If you claimed early and received a reduced benefit, waiting longer does not restore the reduction or add credits on top of it.

How continued work affects your benefit amount

If you continue working after reaching your full retirement age and have not yet claimed Social Security, your benefit amount may increase through a process called earnings recomputation. The Social Security Administration recalculates your benefit based on your additional earnings, and if those earnings are higher than some of your earlier years, they replace the lower years in the calculation.

This is different from delayed retirement credits. Earnings recomputation happens automatically if you keep working, while delayed retirement credits happen only if you delay claiming. Both can increase your benefit, but they work through different mechanisms.

If you claim before your full retirement age and continue working, your benefits may be reduced further based on your earnings. The Social Security Administration withholds one dollar of benefits for every two dollars you earn above a certain threshold (the threshold changes each year). This earnings test stops once you reach your full retirement age.

The difference between full retirement age and when you can first claim

Full retirement age is not the earliest age you can claim. You can claim Social Security as early as age 62, which is five years before the earliest full retirement age of 67. However, claiming at 62 means accepting a permanently reduced benefit.

Full retirement age is also not the latest age you should claim. While benefits continue to increase until age 70, they do not increase after that. Most people who delay claiming do so until 70, though some claim earlier or later depending on their health, family history, and financial situation.

Understanding the difference matters because each decision point — 62, your full retirement age, and 70 — represents a different trade-off between the monthly amount you receive and the total number of years you receive it.

How to find your specific full retirement age

The Social Security Administration maintains an official table on its website showing the full retirement age for each birth year and month. You can search by your birth date and find the exact age in minutes.

You can also call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 to speak with a representative who can tell you your full retirement age and answer questions about how it affects your benefit amount. The phone line is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time.

If you create a my Social Security account on the Social Security Administration website, you can view your estimated benefit amount at different claiming ages — 62, your full retirement age, and 70. This tool shows you the actual dollar difference between claiming early, on time, or late based on your specific earnings record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I claim Social Security before my full retirement age?

Yes, you can claim as early as age 62. However, your monthly benefit will be permanently reduced compared to what you would receive at your full retirement age. The reduction is roughly 30 percent if your full retirement age is 67 and you claim at 62.

Does my full retirement age change if I work longer?

No, your full retirement age is fixed based on your birth year and does not change. However, if you continue working past your full retirement age before claiming, your benefit amount may increase through earnings recomputation or delayed retirement credits.

What is the maximum age to claim Social Security?

You can claim Social Security at any age 62 or older. However, your benefit stops increasing after age 70, so there is no financial advantage to waiting past 70 to claim.

If I claim early, can I switch to a higher amount later?

No. Once you claim, your benefit amount is set based on your age at the time of claim. You cannot later increase it by waiting. The reduction for claiming early is permanent.

How do I know if my full retirement age is 66 or 67?

Check the Social Security Administration's official table on its website by entering your birth date. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, your full retirement age is 66. If you were born in 1960 or later, it is 67. Birth years in between fall somewhere in the middle, increasing by two months per year.