What Is My Full Retirement Age?
The number every other Social Security decision hangs on.
Verdict: if you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. If you were born between 1955 and 1959 it falls between 66 and 2 months and 66 and 10 months. Born 1954 or earlier, it is 66 or lower.
Full retirement age is the age at which you receive 100% of the benefit your earnings record has bought you. Social Security calls that amount your primary insurance amount. Everything else on your statement is a percentage of it.
The chart
| Birth year | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1954 or earlier | 66 or younger |
| 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 |
Why it matters so much
Full retirement age is the hinge. Claim before it and your benefit is cut permanently. Claim after it and you earn credits, permanently.
Before: the reduction is 5/9 of one percent for each of the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of one percent for each month beyond. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 leaves you 70%.
After: delayed retirement credits add 2/3 of one percent a month, which is 8% a year, until 70. Waiting from 67 to 70 takes you to 124%.
Both are permanent. Neither is a temporary adjustment that corrects itself later, which is the most common misunderstanding about the whole system.
Two things full retirement age also changes
The earnings test ends. Before full retirement age, working while claiming can cause part of your benefit to be withheld. From the month you reach it, you can earn any amount with no reduction at all.
Spousal benefits are measured against it. A spousal benefit maxes out at 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount, and you only get the full 50% by claiming at your own full retirement age. See spousal benefits.
It is not the same as Medicare
Medicare eligibility starts at 65 regardless of your full retirement age. If you are not claiming Social Security at 65, you generally still need to enrol in Medicare around then, because missing the enrolment window can mean permanent late penalties.
Two different ages, two different systems, one very common and expensive mix-up.
To see what your own benefit looks like at each age, use the claiming age calculator.
Frequently asked questions
67. Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later.
Yes, 62 remains the earliest age for retirement benefits regardless of your full retirement age. The cost is a permanent reduction, which is 30% if your full retirement age is 67.
No. Medicare starts at 65 no matter what your full retirement age is. Missing the Medicare enrolment window can cause permanent late penalties, so treat them as two separate deadlines.
No. It is fixed by your birth year. Working longer can raise your benefit by replacing low-earning years in your record, but it does not move the age itself.