Quick answer: If you were born in 1960 or later, your Social Security full retirement age (FRA) is 67. You can start benefits as early as 62 at a permanently reduced amount, or wait until 70 to receive the maximum monthly benefit.
Key Takeaways
- Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later
- Claiming at 62 permanently reduces benefits by about 30%
- Delaying to 70 adds roughly 8% per year
- Check your personal estimates in a my Social Security account
Claiming Age Comparison
Enter your benefit at full retirement age and see what claiming at 62, at FRA, and at 70 pays monthly, plus the break-even ages between them.
Estimate using the standard reduction and delayed retirement credit formulas: benefits are reduced 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1% for additional months, and increased 2/3 of 1% per month (8% per year) for delaying past FRA up to 70. Cost-of-living adjustments, taxes, and the earnings test are not modeled. Get your actual figures from your Social Security Statement at ssa.gov/myaccount.
Full retirement age by birth year
| 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 |
What happens if you claim early
Claiming at 62 with an FRA of 67 reduces your monthly benefit by about 30% for life. The reduction shrinks the closer you get to full retirement age. Early claiming can still make sense if you need income, have health concerns, or have a shorter life expectancy, but the cut is permanent.
What happens if you wait past FRA
Each year you delay between your FRA and age 70 adds roughly 8% to your benefit through delayed retirement credits. There is no benefit to waiting past 70. Someone with an FRA of 67 who claims at 70 receives about 24% more per month than they would at 67.
Working while receiving benefits
If you claim before FRA and keep working, the Social Security Administration withholds part of your benefit once your earnings pass an annual limit, which is adjusted every year. Once you reach FRA the limit disappears, and your benefit is recalculated to credit the withheld months.
How to check your own numbers
Create a free my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount. It shows your earnings record and personalized estimates for claiming at 62, FRA, and 70. Review the earnings record for errors, since your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings.
FAQ
Is full retirement age the same for Medicare? No. Medicare eligibility begins at 65 regardless of your Social Security FRA.
Can my spouse claim on my record? Yes. Spousal benefits can be up to 50% of your FRA benefit and are also reduced if claimed before the spouse’s own FRA.
Do benefits increase with inflation? Yes. Cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) are applied annually and are announced each October.
The break-even question, and why it is only half the answer
The most common way to compare claiming ages is the break-even age: the point at which the larger delayed checks catch up to the smaller early ones. For someone whose full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 versus 67 typically breaks even somewhere in the late 70s to around 80. Waiting from 67 to 70 usually breaks even in the early 80s. Live past those points and delaying wins; die before them and claiming early wins.
The reason this is only half the answer is that break-even math treats Social Security as an investment rather than as insurance. Its real function is protection against the risk of living a long time and running out of money. Viewed that way, delaying is not a bet that you will live long; it is a purchase of protection in case you do. That reframing changes the decision for many people, particularly the higher earner in a married couple, because their benefit becomes the survivor benefit that continues after the first death.
Situations that override the standard table
Several rules can change the calculation entirely, and each catches people by surprise.
A pension from non-covered work. If you earned a pension from a job that did not pay Social Security taxes, such as some state and local government positions, the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset have historically reduced your benefit or your spousal benefit. Congress has changed these rules, so check the current status on ssa.gov rather than relying on older guidance.
Divorce after a marriage of ten years or more. You can claim on an ex-spouse’s record without affecting them in any way, and without their involvement or knowledge. Many people never learn this and leave money unclaimed.
Survivor benefits. A widow or widower can claim survivor benefits as early as 60 (50 if disabled) and switch to their own retirement benefit later, or claim their own first and switch to survivor benefits at full retirement age. This sequencing flexibility does not exist for regular retirement benefits and can be worth a substantial amount.
Disability benefits. These convert automatically to retirement benefits at full retirement age at the same dollar amount, so there is no claiming decision to make.
Working while collecting, before and after full retirement age
If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, Social Security withholds part of your benefit once your earnings exceed an annual limit that changes every year. In the years before the year you reach full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $2 above the limit. In the year you reach it, the formula loosens to $1 for every $3 above a higher limit, counting only the months before your birthday. From full retirement age onward there is no limit at all.
The word “withheld” matters more than it sounds. Those dollars are not lost. Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your benefit upward to credit the months in which payments were withheld. Over time you get the money back. This makes the earnings test far less punitive than most people assume, though it still means claiming early while working full time often accomplishes little.
How to check your own numbers rather than relying on averages
Every figure in this article is a general rule. Your actual benefit depends on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings, and the only reliable source is your own record.
Create a free account at ssa.gov/myaccount, verified through Login.gov or ID.me. Open your Social Security Statement, which shows personalized estimates at 62, at full retirement age, and at 70. Then do the step most people skip: scroll to the earnings record and check it year by year. Missing or understated years are more common than you would expect, usually from an employer reporting error, and each zero year in your top 35 pulls the average down. Errors can be corrected, but the evidence gets harder to produce as time passes.
Sources
Last updated: August 15, 2026. Written by the InfoBrief Editorial team. We link to official government and company sources and update articles when facts change. See our disclosure.