Full retirement age by birth year
The Social Security Act defines retirement age by the year a person reaches early retirement age, which the same section sets at 62. Anyone reaching 62 from 2005 to 2016 has a retirement age of 66; from 2017 to 2021 it is 66 plus an age increase factor of two months for each year after 2016; after 2021 it is 67. Translated into birth years:
| Year of birth | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1943 to 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 |
Full retirement age is the pivot: claim there and you receive 100 percent of your primary insurance amount, the benefit computed from your earnings record. Every other claiming age is a percentage of that figure.
Claiming early: the reduction
Section 402(q) reduces a retirement benefit claimed before full retirement age by five-ninths of one percent for each of the first 36 months of the reduction period, and five-twelfths of one percent for each additional month. Thirty-six months at five-ninths is 20 percent; with a full retirement age of 67 there are 24 more months to 62, and 24 times five-twelfths is another 10 percent, for a total reduction of 30 percent.
Reduction = (first 36 months × 5⁄9 %) + (months beyond 36 × 5⁄12 %)
Claiming late: the delayed retirement credit
Section 402(w) does the opposite for each month between full retirement age and age 70. For anyone who first became eligible after 2004, that is everyone retiring now, the credit is two-thirds of one percent per month, 8 percent a year. The credits stop with the month before the 70th birthday, so there is nothing to gain by waiting past 70.
What you get at each age
Both formulas applied to the two full retirement ages that matter today, as a percentage of the full benefit:
| Claim at | Full retirement age 66 | Full retirement age 67 |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 75% | 70% |
| 63 | 80% | 75% |
| 64 | 86.7% | 80% |
| 65 | 93.3% | 86.7% |
| 66 | 100% | 93.3% |
| 67 | 108% | 100% |
| 68 | 116% | 108% |
| 69 | 124% | 116% |
| 70 | 132% | 124% |
The spread for someone born in 1960 or later runs from 70 percent at 62 to 124 percent at 70: the monthly check at 70 is 77 percent larger than the check at 62, for life. Claiming in a month between birthdays is prorated by the same monthly rates.
Thinking it through
- It is a trade of years for size. Claiming at 62 brings five more years of smaller checks; claiming at 70 brings fewer years of larger ones. Which comes out ahead depends on how long the benefit is paid, which nobody knows in advance; the larger benefit is also insurance against a long life.
- The gap has to be bridged. Waiting means living on savings or work in the meantime. The retirement savings calculator shows whether a portfolio can carry those years, and the savings-by-age guide gives reference points.
- Count the months precisely. The formulas work in months, so the age calculator gives the exact number between a birth date and a planned claiming date.
- The rest of the plan continues. A 401(k) keeps growing while the claim is deferred; the 401(k) calculator and the compound interest calculator show what a few extra years add.
This guide covers the retirement benefit on your own record. Spousal and survivor benefits have their own reduction schedules and earliest ages under the same sections of the Act.
Frequently asked questions
What is my full retirement age?
Federal law sets it by the year you reach 62: anyone reaching 62 after 2021, which means born in 1960 or later, has a full retirement age of 67. People born from 1943 to 1954 had 66, and those born from 1955 to 1959 have 66 plus two months for each year after 1954. Full retirement age is the age at which the benefit is neither reduced nor increased.
How much is the benefit reduced at 62?
The statute reduces the benefit by five-ninths of one percent for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and five-twelfths of one percent for every further month. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 is 60 months early, which works out to 30 percent less, a benefit of 70 percent of the full amount, for life.
How much more do I get by waiting until 70?
For anyone first eligible after 2004, the delayed retirement credit is two-thirds of one percent for each month after full retirement age, which is 8 percent a year, and it stops the month before you turn 70. With a full retirement age of 67 that is 36 months, so claiming at 70 pays 124 percent of the full benefit.
Is 65 still the retirement age?
Not for Social Security. The statute set 65 for people who reached 62 before 2000, then raised it in steps to 66 and now 67; nothing in the retirement benefit rules happens at 65 any more.
Does the reduction or the increase ever go away?
The percentage set at claiming applies to the benefit for the rest of your life. That is why the decision is worth making with the whole retirement in view rather than the first year.
Sources
- 42 U.S.C. 416(l), Retirement age (the ages by the year early retirement age is reached: 65 before 2000, 66 for 2005 to 2016, 67 after 2021, with the age increase factor of two months per year in between; early retirement age 62)
- 42 U.S.C. 402(q) and 402(w), Reduction for early retirement and increase for delayed retirement (five-ninths of one percent a month for the first 36 months and five-twelfths beyond; two-thirds of one percent a month for those first eligible after 2004, through the month before age 70)