Full retirement age depends on your birth year. It is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954, rises two months a year for 1955 to 1959, and is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Born on January 1? Use the previous year. You can claim at 62, but with a permanent cut of up to 30%.
Full retirement age, or FRA, is the age when Social Security pays 100% of your benefit. Claim earlier and the check shrinks for life. Wait longer and it grows, up to age 70. Below is the full chart, the exact reduction math, a $2,000 worked example and the earnings limits for 2026 and 2027.
What is my full retirement age? The chart by birth year
Find your birth year in the first column. The third column shows what share of your full benefit you would get if you claimed on your 62nd birthday, the earliest age allowed. The ages come from the Social Security regulation, 20 CFR 404.409.
| Year of birth | Full retirement age | Benefit if claimed at 62 | Months early at 62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 or earlier | 65 | 80.0% | 36 |
| 1938 | 65 and 2 months | 79.2% | 38 |
| 1939 | 65 and 4 months | 78.3% | 40 |
| 1940 | 65 and 6 months | 77.5% | 42 |
| 1941 | 65 and 8 months | 76.7% | 44 |
| 1942 | 65 and 10 months | 75.8% | 46 |
| 1943–1954 | 66 | 75.0% | 48 |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months | 74.2% | 50 |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months | 73.3% | 52 |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months | 72.5% | 54 |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months | 71.7% | 56 |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months | 70.8% | 58 |
| 1960 and later | 67 | 70.0% | 60 |
The January 1 rule trips people up. Social Security says you reach an age on the day before your birthday (20 CFR 404.2). So someone born on January 1, 1960 legally turns each age on December 31, falls into the 1959 group, and has an FRA of 66 and 10 months.
What is the full retirement age if you were born in 1960?
If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. It is the last step of the increase Congress passed in the Social Security Amendments of 1983, which raised the age from 65 to 67 in small steps for people born from 1938 to 1960 (Congressional Research Service).
That makes 2027 the first year anyone reaches FRA at 67. People born in 1960 turn 67 during 2027, while the 1959 group reaches 66 and 10 months between late 2025 and late 2026. So if you are under 66 today, your current retirement age for full benefits is 67. Proposals to raise it further come up often, but as of October 2026 none had become law.
How much do you lose by claiming Social Security at 62?
At 62 with an FRA of 67, you get 70% of your full benefit, for life. That 30% cut comes from a fixed formula in 20 CFR 404.410:
- 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before FRA. That is 6⅔% a year.
- 5/12 of 1% per month for every month beyond 36. That is 5% a year.
Claiming 60 months early works out to 36 × 5/9% = 20%, plus 24 × 5/12% = 10%, for a 30% reduction. Claim at 65 instead, 24 months early, and the cut is 13⅓%. The reduction does not go away when you reach FRA. The one exception is the earnings test below, which can give some months back.
Claiming at 62 vs 67 vs 70: a $2,000 example
Your full-age benefit is called your primary insurance amount, or PIA. Say yours is $2,000 a month and you were born in 1962, so your FRA is 67.
- Claim at 62 (30% reduction)
- $1,400
- Claim at 65 (13⅓% reduction)
- about $1,733
- Claim at 67 (full retirement age)
- $2,000
- Claim at 70 (36 months × ⅔% = 24% credit)
- $2,480
- Gap between earliest and latest claim
- $1,080 a month
The bigger check at 70 comes from delayed retirement credits. For anyone born after January 1, 1943, each month you wait past FRA adds 2/3 of 1%, which is 8% a year (20 CFR 404.313). Credits stop at 70, so there is no reason to wait longer.
The monthly check is only half the story. Starting early means more checks. This table adds them up:
| Total collected by age | Claim at 62 | Claim at 67 | Claim at 70 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75 | $218,400 | $192,000 | $148,800 |
| 80 | $302,400 | $312,000 | $297,600 |
| 85 | $386,400 | $432,000 | $446,400 |
| 90 | $470,400 | $552,000 | $595,200 |
The break-even ages fall out of the same math. Waiting from 62 to 67 pays off if you live past about 78 and 8 months. Waiting from 67 to 70 pays off past 82½. Waiting from 62 all the way to 70 pays off past about 80 and 4 months. Your health, family history and other savings decide which side of those lines you are likely to land on.
Can you work and collect Social Security before full retirement age?
Yes, but if your wages pass a yearly limit, Social Security holds back part of your benefit. This is the retirement earnings test. It ends the month you reach FRA. After that you can earn any amount.
| Your situation | 2026 limit | 2027 limit | Amount withheld |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under FRA all year | $24,480 | $25,560 | $1 for every $2 above the limit |
| Reach FRA during the year | $65,160 | $67,920 | $1 for every $3 above, months before FRA only |
| At or past FRA | No limit | No limit | Nothing |
Example: you claim $1,400 a month at 62 and earn $40,000 in 2026. You are $15,520 over the limit, so Social Security withholds $7,760, about five and a half monthly checks. That money is not gone for good. At FRA, your benefit is recomputed to credit the months that were withheld, so your check rises from then on (CRS overview of the earnings test). Social Security and Medicare taxes still come out of your wages at any age; our paycheck tax guide shows how much.
Is full retirement age the same as Medicare age?
No. Medicare starts at 65 for nearly everyone, no matter your full retirement age. Your first chance to sign up is a seven-month window that opens three months before the month you turn 65 (Medicare.gov).
Enrollment is automatic only if you already get Social Security at least four months before 65. If you are waiting for 67 or 70, you must sign up yourself through Social Security. Skip Part B at 65 and you may have to wait to sign up and pay a monthly late enrollment penalty.
What is the minimum retirement age?
The answer depends on which "retirement" you mean:
- Social Security retirement benefits: 62. The 1983 law left this age alone.
- Social Security survivor benefits: 60, reduced. Survivors also have their own FRA schedule, which reaches 67 for people born in 1962 or later (20 CFR 404.409(b)).
- 401(k) and IRA withdrawals without the 10% penalty: 59½. A 401(k) also allows 55 if you leave that employer in or after the year you turn 55. See our 401(k) early withdrawal penalty guide.
- Federal employees (FERS): 55 to 57. The FERS "minimum retirement age" is 56 for those born 1953–1964 and 57 for those born in 1970 or later (OPM).
The bottom line
Look up your birth year once and write the date down. If you were born in 1960 or later, it is 67. Every month before that costs you money for life, and every month after it, up to 70, adds 2/3 of 1%. Pull your real PIA from your Social Security statement, run the break-even math with your own health and savings in mind, and sign up for Medicare at 65 either way.
