What's retirement age for full Social Security benefits? It's not the same for everyone.
What's retirement age for full Social Security benefits? It's not the same for everyone.
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Retirement worries grow as seniors face Trump tariffs, stock selloff
Retired educator and part-time yoga instructor Vicki Knight says she feels stretched thin. "I'm semi-retired." The Marietta, Georgia, resident says her Social Security income is not enough to live on and that a recent stock market selloff fueled by tariff uncertainty has complicated her plans.
Turning 65 and thinking about retiring and claiming Social Security? Depending on your budget and means, you might want to hold off.
That's because your monthly Social Security benefit may be higher for you – and, eventually, your spouse – if you wait even a few months to apply.
For decades, you could apply for Social Security at age 62, but you didn't get full benefits unless you signed up at age 65. But that "full retirement age," has gradually increased over the years – and it's recently increased again. For those born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age is 67.
The changes in full retirement age come from legislation, which aimed to shore up the program, passed in 1983 and signed by President Ronald Reagan, according to AARP. Nearly 74 million Americans get Social Security benefits.
Retirement: The amount of money Americans think they need to retire comfortably hits record high: study
The changes aren't new, but are "more connected to when your birth is and therefore when your full retirement age is," Joel Eskovitz, senior director for Social Security and savings at the AARP Public Policy Institute, told USA TODAY in December 2024. "You get lower benefits if you claim before that retirement age. Every month early you claim, you get a reduction."
The age of 65 remains an important year for those planning retirement because it's the age when people become eligible for Medicare, a fact that "is in many ways more important than the full retirement age," Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, previously told USA TODAY.
When is the best time to retire to get Social Security?
When to retire and apply for Social Security is a personal decision based on many factors. But you can apply for the program at age 62.
However, the longer you delay taking Social Security, the bigger your monthly check. By taking Social Security before your full retirement age, your monthly payment "will be permanently reduced, by as much as 30%," according to AARP.
For instance, if you retired and filed for Social Security this year at "full retirement age," your maximum benefit would be $4,018, according to the Social Security Administration website. But let's say you retire this year at age 62 and file, your maximum benefit would be $2,831.
Wait beyond your full retirement age and you get a bonus beyond the full retirement age benefit. For instance, if you are age 70 and filed for Social Security this year, your maximum benefit would be $5,108.
"Any year that you delay claiming after 62 until you reach 70, increases the monthly benefit that you get," Wettstein said.
Social Security: Here's the best age to take the benefit, based on the one variable that really matters
How can I get the most Social Security benefits?
To collect what's considered full Social Security benefits, you wait until at least your "full retirement age." Here's the full retirement age for those born from 1943 and on:
1943-1954: 66 years old
1955: 66 years and two months
1956: 66 years and four months
1957: 66 years and six months
1958: 66 years and eight months
1959: 66 years and 10 months
1960 and later: 67 years of age
This story has been updated with a headline change.
Mike Snider is a reporter on USA TODAY's Trending team. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com
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