Your full retirement age is the point at which you’re able to claim the full amount of benefits that you’ve earned throughout your career, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA). However, that doesn’t mean it’s the age at which you can receive your maximum benefit. Determining the best time to claim your Social Security benefits has become a more complex endeavor in recent decades. Technically, you can claim a minimum benefit at age 62 or delay until age 70 to receive your maximum benefit.
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What Is Full Retirement Age?
Your full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which you can claim the full benefits you have accrued throughout your working years. Though you can technically retire and start claiming Social Security payments at age 62, retiring at that point won’t give you access to your full retirement benefits. Your full retirement age is determined based on when you were born.
For the first several decades of the Social Security program, everyone had the same full retirement age: 65. But Congress introduced amendments in 1983 that would allow the normal retirement age to increase over time. Congressional leaders felt that a gradual adjustment of the full retirement age was necessary to ensure that there was enough money to keep Social Security from facing insolvency.
The result is that not everyone has the same full retirement age. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, your FRA is 66. If your birth year is 1960 or later, your FRA is 67. Anyone born between 1955 and 1959 has an FRA between 66 and 67 – that is, 66 plus a certain number of months. For instance, if you were born in 1958, your FRA is 66 and eight months.
The day you were born could also affect your FRA. If you were born on the first day of a month, your FRA will be calculated as if you were born in the previous month. For example, if your birthday is March 1, the SSA will determine your FRA and full benefit amount as if your birthday was in February.
Here is a full retirement age chart that can help you determine the age at which you will be eligible for full retirement benefits:
Full Retirement Age
| Birth Year | Full Retirement Age |
|---|---|
| 1943-1954 | 66 years old |
| 1955 | 66 and two months |
| 1956 | 66 and four months |
| 1957 | 66 and six months |
| 1958 | 66 and eight months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 and later | 67 years old |
Calculating Your Benefit at Full Retirement Age
The SSA has a set formula to calculate the size of your benefit at FRA. This amount is also known as your primary insurance amount (PIA). The formula is somewhat convoluted, but it factors in your 35 highest years of earnings, each of which are indexed for inflation.
Your FRA determines when you’re eligible to receive your PIA. So if you elect to receive benefits any time before your FRA, you’ll receive a lower monthly benefit. You’ll receive a higher benefit if you wait until after your FRA to file for Social Security. Every month you wait from 62 until your FRA, your monthly benefit will increase incrementally. For instance, if you were born in 1960 or after, you can receive 86.1% of your PIA at age 64 and 11 months. You can collect 92.2% of your PIA once you hit 65 and 10 months.
What may confuse some people is that the amount you receive at your FRA is not your maximum possible benefit. You can continue to delay past your FRA, which will cause your eventual benefit to continue to increase at a rate of 0.67% per month. Once you reach age 70, however, your benefit amount will reach its maximum.
Even though FRA is not when you receive the highest possible benefit, it still plays an important role. If you’re working and receiving Social Security before hitting your FRA, the SSA may deduct some money from your benefit amount.
For the 2025 tax year, your benefit will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn above the earnings limit of $23,400 (up from $22,320 in 2024).
In the year in which you reach FRA, you may earn up to $62,160 for the 2025 tax year (up from $59,520 in 2024), without losing benefits. Earn more than that during the months before you reach FRA, and Social Security will dock you $1 for every $3 you earn. As soon as you reach FRA, you can earn as much as you’d like without being penalized.
How the Full Retirement Age Affects Social Security
Full retirement age also affects the Social Security program as a whole. Americans are living longer, and the working-age population is shrinking. Some have proposed raising the FRA to 70, based on predictions that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds could run out of money by 2035.
However, payroll taxes will continue to fund the program, allowing it to pay about 80% of scheduled benefits. Without legislative changes, retirees could face reduced payments unless Congress takes action to replenish the funds. Possible solutions include raising the payroll tax rate, increasing the full retirement age, or adjusting benefit formulas. While benefits wouldn’t disappear entirely, a funding shortfall could impact millions of retirees who rely on Social Security as a primary source of income.
Full Retirement Age for Survivor Benefits
Your FRA may be different if you’re a widow or widower collecting survivor benefits. In fact, it may be earlier than the normal retirement age for your own Social Security benefits. If you were born in 1956, for example, your FRA is 66 and four months. But survivors may begin receiving benefits four months earlier, at age 66.
The earliest you can begin claiming survivor benefits is 60. But much like standard Social Security benefits, you’ll receive a reduced monthly benefit if you want access to your survivor benefits before reaching your FRA.
Bottom Line
Full retirement age (FRA) plays a key role in determining when individuals can claim their full Social Security benefits. While benefits are available as early as age 62, claiming before FRA results in reduced payments, whereas delaying past FRA increases monthly benefits. FRA also affects earnings limits for those who continue working while receiving benefits, influencing overall retirement income.
With potential changes to Social Security in the future, understanding FRA and how it impacts benefit amounts can help retirees make informed decisions about when to start collecting payments and how to maximize their financial security in retirement.
Tips for Planning for Retirement
- A financial advisor can help determine how Social Security fits with other income sources in your retirement plan. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
- Don’t forget to factor Social Security benefits into your savings total. Use SmartAsset’s Social Security calculator to determine how much you’ll receive.
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