62
Earliest claiming age
Starting now creates income sooner, but the monthly retirement benefit can be up to 30% lower when full retirement age is 67.
Resource library
Social Security retirement ages, made clear.
Your earliest claiming age, full retirement age, and age 70 are three different milestones. Here’s what each means—and what to weigh before choosing.
By Sarah Elizabeth DePover, MBA · Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual · Updated September 27, 2026 · 8 minute read
62
Earliest
66–67
Full benefit
70
Max delayed credits
Quick answer
What is my Social Security full retirement age?
For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. For people born from 1943 through 1959, it falls between 66 and 66 and 10 months, depending on birth year.
You can start retirement benefits as early as 62 with a permanent reduction, or delay past full retirement age to earn delayed retirement credits until age 70. The right age depends on health, work, cash flow, taxes, and spouse or survivor needs — not the chart alone.
Sources: SSA: Retirement age and benefit reduction · SSA: Delayed retirement credits
Written and reviewed by Sarah Elizabeth DePover, MBA, Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual in Waukesha, WI · Updated . Educational only — not individualized, tax, legal, or medical advice.
Start with your birth year
Your full retirement age is the anchor—not necessarily the answer.
Full retirement age determines when your retirement benefit is unreduced. You can claim earlier or later, but the monthly amount changes permanently.
Explore your timing
See how claiming age changes the picture.
This illustration shows the approximate percentage of your full retirement benefit—not a personalized benefit estimate.
Claiming age
67
Approximate share of full benefit
100.0%
Your full retirement age is 67. SSA calculates actual benefits by month; this annual comparison is rounded.
Full retirement age chart
Find your age by birth year.
Born 1943–1954
66
Born 1955
66 + 2 months
Born 1956
66 + 4 months
Born 1957
66 + 6 months
Born 1958
66 + 8 months
Born 1959
66 + 10 months
Born 1960 or later
67
Born January 1? Social Security generally uses the previous year when determining full retirement age.
The three milestones
62, full retirement age, and 70 each play a different role.
66–67
Full retirement age
This is when your primary insurance amount is payable without an early-claiming reduction. Your exact age depends on birth year.
70
End of delayed credits
Waiting beyond full retirement age can increase your own retirement benefit. The increase stops at 70, so waiting longer adds no benefit.
How to choose
The best claiming age is a planning decision, not a universal number.
A larger monthly check matters, but so do the years before it begins and the people who may depend on it.
Health and longevity
Your health, family longevity, and comfort with the tradeoff between earlier payments and a larger later benefit.
Work and cash flow
Whether you will keep working, how you will fund the gap if you delay, and how other retirement income fits.
Spouse and survivor planning
For couples, two claiming decisions interact. The higher earner’s choice may affect a future survivor benefit.
Taxes and Medicare
Social Security can be taxable, and Medicare timing starts on its own track around age 65—even if Social Security waits.
Important: Stopping work and starting Social Security do not have to happen at the same time. If you claim before full retirement age while working, the earnings test may temporarily withhold benefits. After full retirement age, work earnings do not reduce benefits.
A practical next step
Pull your estimate before debating the age.
Your my Social Security account shows estimates based on your actual earnings record. Compare ages 62 through 70, then place those numbers beside your spending plan, portfolio withdrawals, pension, and spouse’s benefits.
Common questions
A few details worth getting right.
What is full retirement age for Social Security?
Full retirement age is when you qualify for your unreduced retirement benefit. It ranges from 66 to 67 depending on birth year and is 67 for people born in 1960 or later.
Can I collect Social Security at 62?
Generally, yes. Age 62 is the earliest claiming age for retirement benefits, but starting before full retirement age permanently reduces the monthly amount.
Does Social Security increase after age 67?
For people born in 1943 or later, retirement benefits generally earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year after full retirement age, calculated monthly, until age 70.
Is 65 still a Social Security retirement age?
Age 65 is important for Medicare, but it is no longer full retirement age for most people approaching retirement. Social Security and Medicare timing are separate decisions.
Sources: Social Security Administration, Plan for Retirement and Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction. This guide is educational and does not provide tax, legal, or individualized financial advice. Rules and personal circumstances can change.
Coordinate the decision