How full retirement age works
Full retirement age is the reference point for every Social Security retirement calculation. At FRA your benefit equals 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA), the figure your earnings record produces. Every other claiming age is measured against it: each month you claim before FRA trims the benefit, and each month you wait after it adds a credit, up to age 70.
SSA’s actuaries call the same age the normal retirement age. It is not the age you must stop working, and it is not a recommendation. You can claim retirement benefits in any month from 62 to 70, and you can keep working at any age.
FRA depends only on your date of birth, not on when you stop work or when you claim, so two coworkers retiring together can have different FRAs. Under current law, no one’s FRA is higher than 67.
Full retirement age by birth year
The Social Security Amendments of 1983 raised the age for unreduced benefits from 65 to 67 in two stages, starting with people born in 1938. Everyone born from 1943 to 1954 has an FRA of 66. It then rises by two months for each birth year, reaching 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. People turning 62 in 2026, born in 1964, reach FRA at 67 in 2031.
Two birthday rules catch people out. If you were born on January 1, use the previous year’s row of the table. More generally, if you were born on the first day of any month, SSA figures your benefit and your FRA as if your birthday were in the previous month.
The same law made early claiming more expensive. A worker with an FRA of 65 who claimed at 62 lost 20% of the benefit. With an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 costs 30%, as the table below shows for each birth year.
What changes when you reach full retirement age
Your full retirement age month matters even if you claim earlier or later, because several rules switch on or off in it. Some changes are automatic, such as the end of the earnings test; others are options that open only from that month, such as suspending benefits.
One thing does not change. A benefit you started before FRA does not rise to 100% of your PIA when you reach it: the early-claiming reduction is permanent, apart from any months the earnings test withheld, and only cost-of-living adjustments raise the check from there. The main changes at FRA:
- The earnings test ends. From the FRA month, earnings no longer reduce benefits, and SSA raises your check to credit back any months it withheld.
- Delayed retirement credits begin. Each month you wait past FRA adds 2/3 of 1% of your PIA, or 8% a year, until 70.
- A spouse’s benefit is unreduced. A spousal benefit claimed at the spouse’s own FRA pays the full 50% of the worker’s PIA.
- You can suspend. Between FRA and 70 you can ask SSA to stop a benefit already started and earn delayed credits for the suspended months.
- Back pay is limited. After FRA you can start benefits up to six months retroactively, but never to a month before FRA.
Full retirement age vs. other retirement ages
Several ages in retirement planning sound alike but come from different laws. Full retirement age governs only Social Security benefits: it does not decide when you can tap retirement accounts without a penalty, when Medicare starts, or when the IRS requires withdrawals. Mixing them up is a common and sometimes costly error, especially for anyone who stops work before 65 and has to bridge several of these dates at once. The others to know:
- 59½: withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s generally escape the 10% early withdrawal penalty.
- 62: the earliest age for Social Security retirement benefits, reduced by up to 30%.
- 65: Medicare eligibility, which did not rise with FRA. If you delay Social Security, SSA advises applying for Medicare within 3 months of turning 65, because waiting can make Part B and Part D cost more.
- 70: delayed credits stop, so no retirement benefit grows by waiting longer.
- 73 or 75, by birth year: required minimum distributions begin from tax-deferred accounts.
- Survivor FRA: survivor benefits run two years behind, at 66 for people born 1945–1956 and rising to 67 for those born in 1962 or later.
Common mistakes about full retirement age
Most errors come from treating FRA as one universal number or as advice about when to claim. FRA is set by your exact date of birth, a spouse’s FRA can differ from yours by months, and survivor benefits use a separate table. Getting the month wrong changes both the size of an early-claiming cut and the date the earnings test stops, so check each person’s date against SSA’s tables before relying on it. The mistakes that come up most:
- Assuming FRA is 65. Nobody born after 1937 has an FRA of 65; that age now belongs to Medicare.
- Treating FRA as the best age to claim. It anchors the math, but the right choice depends on health, other income, marriage and taxes. A break-even analysis is one input.
- Using the retirement table for survivor benefits, which run on their own schedule.
- Forgetting the first-of-the-month birthday rule, which moves your FRA a month earlier.
- Claiming early while still earning a salary without checking how much the earnings test will withhold.
Illustrative numbers
Claiming 30 months before a full retirement age of 67
- Months before FRA
- Months between your first benefit month and the month you reach full retirement age
- 5/9 of 1%
- About 0.556% a month for the first 36 months, or 6⅔% a year
- 5/12 of 1%
- About 0.417% a month beyond 36 months, or 5% a year
The cut is a permanent percentage of your PIA; spousal benefits claimed early use steeper rates.
Born1964, not on the 1st of a month
Full retirement age67, reached in 2031
PIA (benefit at FRA)$2,400 a month
Claim at 64 years and 6 months30 months early
Reduction: 30 × 5/9 of 1%16.67%
Monthly benefit$2,400 × 83.33% = $2,000
Claiming two and a half years before FRA cuts this worker’s check by one-sixth for life, from $2,400 to $2,000 a month at today’s prices. Waiting instead until 70 would have raised it to $2,976, 124% of PIA, and cost-of-living adjustments apply whichever age is chosen.
At a glance
Full retirement age and the age-62 benefit, by year of birth
| Year of birth | Full retirement age | Months from 62 to FRA | Benefit at 62, % of PIA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943–1954 | 66 | 48 | 75.00% |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months | 50 | 74.17% |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months | 52 | 73.33% |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months | 54 | 72.50% |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months | 56 | 71.67% |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months | 58 | 70.83% |
| 1960 and later | 67 | 60 | 70.00% |
Put it in your plan
FRA in MoneyWhatIf
When a Social Security card estimates from your record, MoneyWhatIf reads your statement figure as your benefit at full retirement age, at today’s prices, and prices your chosen claiming month against it: SSA’s early-claiming reductions or delayed credits are applied from your modeled birth year, at month precision. Retirement date and claiming age are separate choices, so the plan can show the gap between your last paycheck and your first benefit. It does not reproduce earnings-test withholding before full retirement age.
Open your forecastCommon questions
FRA FAQs
What is my full retirement age if I was born in 1960?
Sixty-seven. Everyone born in 1960 or later has a full retirement age of 67, so people born in 1960 reach it during 2027. The exception is a birthday on January 1, 1960: SSA treats that person as born in 1959, with a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months. For anyone with an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full benefit.
Who reaches full retirement age in 2026?
People born in 1959, whose full retirement age is 66 and 10 months. A March 1959 birthday reaches it in January 2026 and a December 1959 birthday in October 2026, while January and February birthdays reached it in late 2025; a birthday on the 1st of a month moves each date a month earlier. Apart from people born on January 1, 1960, who count as born in 1959, nobody born in 1960 or later reaches it before 2027.
Is the full retirement age going to increase again?
Not under current law. The 1983 amendments set the schedule that stops at 67 for people born in 1960 or later, and no later law has raised it. Any change would need an act of Congress. The 2026 Trustees Report projects that without changes, only about 78% of scheduled retirement benefits would be payable after 2032, and the Trustees urge acting early so that changes can be phased in and people have time to prepare.
Can I work after full retirement age without losing Social Security?
Yes. The earnings test applies only before FRA, so from the month you reach it you can earn any amount without benefits being withheld. Work can even raise your benefit: SSA reviews beneficiaries’ earnings every year, and if your latest year is one of your highest, it recalculates your benefit upward. Your wages still owe payroll tax, and extra income can make more of your benefit taxable.
What percentage of my benefit do I get at 62?
It depends on your birth year. With an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of your PIA: a cut of 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 early months and 5/12 of 1% for each of the other 24. People with an FRA of 66 received 75% at 62. A spouse claiming at 62 gets 32.5% of the worker’s PIA instead of 50%.