What The Move To A 67 Social Security Retirement Age Really Means For You

The shift to a full retirement age (FRA) of 67 isn’t a new rule for 2026, it’s the final step in a decades-long phase-in from the 1983 Social Security reforms. Your FRA is fixed entirely by your birth year: Americans born in 1960 or later already have an FRA of 67, while those born in 1959 reach an FRA of 66 and 10 months. You can still claim at 62, but the permanent reduction is larger when your FRA is higher. Early-claim penalties, earnings-limit rules, and delayed retirement credits (8% per year until 70) matter far more for planning than the phase-in itself.

• FRA is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later under long-standing law from the 1983 Social Security amendments.
• Claiming at 62 cuts benefits to roughly 70% of your full amount when FRA is 67; delaying to 70 boosts payments to about 124%.
• 2026 earnings limits follow SSA rules: $24,480 if under FRA all year; $65,160 in the year you reach FRA, with reductions only before the FRA month.
• COLA still applies regardless of claiming age; projected 2026 COLA of 2.8% raises the average benefit to about $2,071.
• No new increase beyond age 67 is enacted as of late 2025; any future change would likely phase in slowly and affect younger workers.

For Americans watching their calendars inch closer to retirement, one headline keeps popping up: Social Security’s “full retirement age” is moving to 67. It sounds like a sudden change, but in reality this shift has been decades in the making, and what it means for you depends largely on your birth year and when you decide to claim.

First, What is “Full Retirement Age” Anyway?

The Social Security Administration defines full retirement age (FRA) as the point when you can claim 100% of the retirement benefits you’ve earned over your career. FRA was originally 65, but Congress approved a major reform in 1983 that gradually increased the age to 67 to reflect rising life expectancy and improve Social Security’s long-term financial stability.

Today, full retirement age ranges from 66 to 67, depending on your birth year. According to the official full retirement age chart from the Social Security Administration, Americans born in 1959 reach an FRA of 66 and 10 months, while anyone born in 1960 or later has a standard FRA of 67.

This is why headlines sometimes claim that “full retirement age is going up to 67.” The reality is that 2026 marks the final step of a long-planned phase-in. The youngest baby boomers, born in 1959, are hitting their higher FRA, and starting with the 1960 cohort, FRA is fixed at 67 under current law.

Who Is Actually Affected by the Age-67 Rule?

The move to a full retirement age of 67 has caused confusion, but the reality is far more straightforward once you break it down by birth year. According to the official Social Security Administration chart, people born in 1959 have a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months. That means they will reach FRA in 2026 if they were born early in the year, or in early 2027 if their birthday falls later in 1959. Nothing about this represents a new shift, it’s simply the next milestone in a long-scheduled phase-in.

For anyone born in 1960 or later, the FRA is 67, and that rule has been firmly in place for decades. These individuals can still start claiming benefits as early as age 62, but they will not receive their full benefit amount until they turn 67. This change traces back to the 1983 Social Security reforms, which gradually increased the FRA from the historic age of 65 to reflect longer life expectancy and strengthen the program’s finances.

Those born before 1959 fall into the earlier phase of the transition, with full retirement ages ranging from 65 to 66 and 10 months, depending on their exact birth year. Most people in this group have already reached, or are very close to reaching, their full retirement age under rules long in effect.

The key point is simple: 2026 does not introduce a sudden change. It does not take anyone who expected an FRA of 65 and push them to 67. Instead, it marks the final step in a gradual increase that has been part of the law for over forty years. This shift has been unfolding quietly, year by year, and is now nearing its planned completion.

Can You Still Claim at 62?

Yes. The earliest age at which you can claim Social Security retirement benefits is still 62, and that rule has not changed. What does change when the full retirement age rises is the size of the reduction you face for claiming early. When your FRA is 67, claiming at 62 means locking in roughly 70% of your full benefit, a permanent reduction of about 30%. That reduction is set by law and is designed to keep lifetime benefits roughly neutral across different claiming ages.

If you wait until age 67, you receive 100% of your earned benefit, which is the baseline amount calculated from your highest 35 years of earnings. Waiting even longer increases your benefit further. Under current law, delayed retirement credits raise your monthly payment by about 8% for each year you wait past full retirement age, up to age 70. That means someone who delays until 70 receives roughly 124% of their full benefit, a significant boost backed by Social Security’s statutory formulas.

These percentages illustrate why raising the FRA to 67 effectively reduces lifetime benefits for new retirees unless they continue working or delay their claim. The framework is built into Social Security law and remains one of the most important factors for retirees deciding when to file.

Does This Mean You Have to Work Until 67?

No. A higher full retirement age does not mean you must stay in the workforce until 67. What it changes is the payoff structure behind your claiming options. You still have the same three fundamental paths that Social Security has always offered, and each remains valid depending on your health, finances and work situation.

Many people still choose to claim early in their early 60s. If you face health challenges, caregiving responsibilities or unexpected job loss, claiming at 62 can be a practical and necessary decision even though it locks in a smaller monthly benefit. The system is designed to allow early access for exactly these kinds of circumstances.

Others prefer to wait until their full retirement age, which for today’s newest retirees is either 66 and some months or 67. Claiming at FRA avoids the early-claim penalty, and it also removes the earnings limit that applies to people who claim before FRA while still working. For many, this “middle ground” creates the best balance between income needs and long-term benefit size.

A growing number of retirees choose to delay beyond FRA, up to age 70, because those three extra years come with guaranteed increases. Delayed retirement credits raise benefits by about 8% for each year you wait past your full retirement age. For people with longer life expectancies, or for couples where a higher survivor benefit matters, delaying can meaningfully increase lifetime income.

The key trade-off created by the shift to a 67 FRA is that claiming early becomes more costly. Taking benefits at 62 when your FRA is 67 triggers a bigger reduction than when FRA was 65. At the same time, delaying to 70 becomes relatively more rewarding, because the spread between the earliest and latest claiming ages is now wider.

How Does Working in Your 60s Interact With Social Security?

One of the more confusing rules for readers is the earnings test, how much you can earn from work while collecting benefits before FRA.

For 2026, the Social Security Administration has confirmed that:

• If you are under full retirement age for all of 2026, you can earn up to $24,480 before any benefits are withheld. Above that, Social Security holds back $1 for every $2 in earnings over the limit.

• If you reach your full retirement age in 2026, a higher limit of $65,160 applies, and Social Security withholds $1 for every $3 above that, only until the month you reach FRA.

• After you are FRA for the full year, there is no earnings limit at all.

These withheld benefits are not “lost” forever; they are used to recalculate a higher monthly benefit later. But if you plan to keep working in your early to mid 60s, the interaction with a later FRA becomes a key planning issue.

What About COLA and the Size of Your Check?

The increase to a 67 full retirement age is unfolding at the same time as other scheduled changes, including the 2026 cost-of-living adjustment. The estimated 2026 COLA is 2.8%, a figure that would raise the average retired worker’s monthly benefit to roughly $2,071, based on projections widely reported in financial analysis outlets. This adjustment applies to all beneficiaries, regardless of when they claim.

However, while COLA boosts help benefits keep pace with inflation, they play a much smaller role in determining your long-term income than the age at which you file. The claiming age still drives the biggest differences in monthly checks. Two people with identical earnings records can end up with dramatically different benefit amounts if one files at 62 and locks in a permanent reduction, while the other waits until 67, or even to 70, to maximize monthly payments. Claiming strategy, not COLA, remains the most powerful factor shaping your personal Social Security benefit.

Should You Change Your Retirement Plans Because FRA is 67?

For most people in their late 50s and early 60s, the move to a 67 full retirement age isn’t a new rule that requires a major adjustment. It simply reflects a change that has been in place for decades. The real task now is to plan around the FRA you already have.

A good first step is checking your own FRA and benefit estimates. Using a my Social Security account gives you personalized projections at 62, full retirement age and 70, along with tools that show how continued work affects your check.

It also helps to compare claiming ages with simple “break-even” math. Tools from AARP and similar financial resources show when delaying benefits begins to pay off in total dollars. For many people, that breakeven point falls in the early 80s.

Finally, remember that Social Security replaces only about 40% of the average worker’s pre-retirement income. Most households still need savings, pensions or part-time work to fill the gap, especially if they plan to delay claiming for a larger monthly check.

In short, FRA rising to 67 doesn’t require a new strategy, but it does make checking your numbers and planning intentionally more important.

What If Congress Raises the Retirement Age Again?

With the Social Security trust fund projected to face a shortfall around 2033, some policymakers have discussed raising the retirement age further. These ideas appear in policy proposals, but no new change has been enacted as of late 2025. If Congress ever does raise the age again, it would almost certainly be phased in slowly, just as the increase to 67 was, and would apply mainly to younger workers, not people already approaching retirement.

For now, the reality is straightforward: if you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67, and your retirement planning should be based on that. It doesn’t mean you must work longer, but it does mean your claiming age matters more than ever for determining the size of your benefit.

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For a full overview of Social Security benefits, rules, and common questions, see our Social Security Explained guide.