Full retirement age chart by birth year

What is my full retirement age?

It depends only on the year you were born: 66 for 1943 through 1954, then two months more for each year until it reaches 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. Find your year in the chart; if you were born on January 1, read the row for the year before.

* Delayed credits for the first row are those for 1937. Earlier birth years earned less: 6% a year for 1935–36 and 5.5% for 1933–34. Born on January 1? Use the row for the year before.

“Months early at 62” counts from the month you turn 62 to your full retirement age — that is what sets the early-claiming cut. The last two columns show what you’d get as a share of your full benefit if you started at exactly 62 or waited until 70. Tap a year for every date that matters to people born then, from Medicare to required minimum distributions.

Is the full retirement age for 1960 really 67?

Yes. 1960 is the first birth year with a full retirement age of 67, reached in 2027 in the month of your 67th birthday. The one exception is a January 1, 1960 birthday: Social Security groups you with 1959, so your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months, reached in October 2026.

For the 1960 group, 67 means claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full benefit for life, while waiting until 70 pays 124%. That’s a 77.1% larger check for the same work record. See every 1960 date, including when RMDs start (also a new age for your year).

Why do January 1 and 1st-of-the-month birthdays count differently?

Social Security says you reach an age on the day before your birthday. A January 1 birthday therefore belongs to the previous birth year, and a birthday on the 1st of any month is treated as falling in the month before — so every milestone arrives a month early.

Four people born in early 1960 show how much the exact day matters:

Compare the last two rows: someone born on the 2nd is 62 for every day of the birthday month, so they can start right away, while someone born on the 15th has to wait until the following month. And the March 1 birthday reaches full retirement age a month early, in February. A month either way makes a small but permanent difference in the check.

How much do I get at each claiming age, 62 to 70?

Claiming before full retirement age cuts your benefit by 5/9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% after that. Waiting past it adds 8% a year (for anyone born January 2, 1943 or later) until 70. The table shows the result at each birthday.

These percentages match Social Security’s own table. Each column assumes benefits start in the month you reach that age; because you must be 62 for a whole month, most people’s earliest start is really 62 and 1 month, a fraction of a percent higher than the 62 column. Spousal benefits are cut more steeply for early claiming and earn no delayed credits.

What is the survivor full retirement age?

Widows and widowers have their own schedule, running two birth years behind the retirement one: 66 and 8 months for a survivor born in 1960, and 67 only from 1962. Survivor benefits can start at 60 at 71.5% of the deceased’s benefit.

Because survivor and retirement benefits are separate, a widow or widower can take one early and switch to the other later — for example survivor benefits from 60 and their own, larger benefit at 70. The reduction is spread evenly over the months from 60 to the survivor full retirement age, so it always totals the same at 60.

Should I claim at full retirement age?

Not automatically. Full retirement age is simply the point where the early-claiming cut ends; nothing special happens to your lifetime total there. The real choice is between taking a smaller check sooner and a larger one later.

• Claim early if your health is poor, you have no other money to live on, or you’re the lower earner in a couple and your spouse plans to delay.
• Claim at full retirement age if you’re still working and earning above the earnings-test limit — it stops applying that month.
• Wait until 70 if you’re healthy, can live on savings or work for now, and especially if you’re the higher earner: your larger check becomes your spouse’s survivor benefit.

Our view: for most healthy people with some savings, waiting is the cheapest inflation-protected income you can buy. The break-even calculator shows the age at which waiting starts to pay off for your own numbers.

What else changes at full retirement age — and what doesn’t?

The earnings test ends, so you can work without any benefits being withheld. Medicare, required minimum distributions and the tax on your benefits do not follow your full retirement age at all.

• Earnings test: before the year you reach full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $2 you earn over a yearly limit ($24,480 in 2026); in that year, $1 for every $3 over a higher limit ($65,160), counting only months before your full-retirement-age month. For 2027: $25,560 and $67,920 Official. See what would be withheld.
• Medicare: eligibility is 65 for everyone. Sign up in the 7-month window around your 65th birthday even if you wait to claim Social Security.
• Required minimum distributions: set by your birth year under IRS rules, not by Social Security — see the RMD calculator.
• Taxes: up to 85% of benefits can be taxable at any age, depending on your other income — check with the taxable Social Security calculator.