At What Age Can I get Full Retirment from Social Security?
Category: Social Security
- 22 Jul 2025
- Posted By WebSiteAdmin
Social Security is the safety net system you pay into from your very first paycheck. Its benefits are there to help should you become disabled and for when you retire from the workforce.
As life expectancy increased through the decades so did the age at which you could claim full retirement benefits. Early retirement age has always been 62 years old but the regular retirement age and delayed retirement age has changed over the years.
Essentially it comes down to the year you were born. Those of us born after 1960 can get early retirement benefits at 62, full retirement at 67 and delayed retirement at 70 years old. For those born before 1960 the payment schedule looks like this:
- Born 1938: FRA is 65 years and 2 months.
- Born 1939: FRA is 65 years and 4 months.
- Born 1940: FRA is 65 years and 6 months.
- Born 1941: FRA is 65 years and 8 months.
- Born 1942: FRA is 65 years and 10 months.
- Born 1943–1954: FRA is 66.
- Born 1955: FRA is 66 years and 2 months.
- Born 1956: FRA is 66 years and 4 months.
- Born 1957: FRA is 66 years and 6 months.
- Born 1958: FRA is 66 years and 8 months.
- Born 1959: FRA is 66 years and 10 months.
FRA = Full Retirement Age
How Much Less Do I Get if I retire Early?
Early retirement benefits for Social Security, taken at age 62, are reduced based on the number of months before your Full Retirement Age (FRA). The reduction percentage depends on your FRA, which ranges from 65 to 67 depending on your birth year. Here’s the breakdown:
- If your FRA is 65 (born 1937 or earlier):
- Benefits at age 62 are reduced by 20% (80% of full benefits).
- If your FRA is 66 (born 1943–1954):
- Benefits at age 62 are reduced by 25% (75% of full benefits).
- If your FRA is 67 (born 1960 or later):
- Benefits at age 62 are reduced by 30% (70% of full benefits).
- For intermediate FRAs (e.g., 66 years and 2 months to 66 years and 10 months, for those born 1955–1959):
- The reduction is calculated proportionally, ranging from approximately 25.83% to 28.33%. For example:
- FRA 66 years and 2 months: ~25.83% reduction (74.17% of full benefits).
- FRA 66 years and 6 months: ~27.5% reduction (72.5% of full benefits).
- FRA 66 years and 10 months: ~29.17% reduction (70.83% of full benefits).
- The reduction is calculated proportionally, ranging from approximately 25.83% to 28.33%. For example:
There are no immediate plans in the works to alter these age requirements but every few years there are rumblings by politicians about moving the Full Retirment Age higher. Although average life expectancy has dropped some in recent years, 2024 saw a rebound and is now at the highest it’s ever been (79.25 years).
