The 2026 Social Security full retirement age chart shows that full retirement age (FRA) is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later and 66 and 10 months for the 1959 birth cohort. FRA is the age at which you collect 100% of your earned benefit with no reduction, and it is the pivot point for every early-claiming cut and delayed-claiming credit (Source: SSA Benefits Planner, 2026).
Full retirement age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later and 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959. You can claim as early as age 62, which permanently reduces the benefit by about 30%, or delay to age 70 for roughly 124% of the full amount. The 1959 cohort reaches FRA across 2025 and 2026, and the flat-67 group first reaches it in 2027 (Source: SSA, 2026).
What is the Social Security full retirement age in 2026?
In 2026, the Social Security full retirement age is 67 for workers born in 1960 or later and 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959. FRA, also called normal retirement age, is the age at which the Social Security Administration pays 100% of your primary insurance amount with no early-claiming reduction (Source: SSA, 2026).
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The earliest you can start retirement benefits is age 62, and the latest that raising your benefit helps is age 70. Between those ages, the age you choose sets the percentage of your full benefit you keep for life, with FRA as the dividing line between reductions and credits (Source: SSA, 2026).
Full retirement age chart by birth year
This Social Security full retirement age chart runs from 65 (for people born in 1937 or earlier) to 67 (for people born in 1960 or later), rising in two-month steps for the birth years in between. The 1983 Social Security Amendments set the schedule, and it is keyed only to your year of birth, not your work history or earnings (Source: SSA official age chart, 2026).
| Year of birth | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1937 or earlier | 65 |
| 1938 | 65 and 2 months |
| 1939 | 65 and 4 months |
| 1940 | 65 and 6 months |
| 1941 | 65 and 8 months |
| 1942 | 65 and 10 months |
| 1943 to 1954 | 66 |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 or later | 67 |
What is my full retirement age if I was born in 1960?
If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is a flat 67 (Source: SSA, 2026). The 1960 cohort is the first group to reach the final step of the 1983 phase-in, and it first hits FRA in 2027. The only exception is a January 1, 1960 birthday, which maps to the 1959 row at 66 and 10 months.
What is the full retirement age for someone born in 1959?
For someone born in 1959, full retirement age is 66 and 10 months (Source: SSA, 2026). This is the last cohort before the schedule levels off at 67, and it reaches FRA across 2025 and 2026. A worker born in 1959 who waits until 66 and 10 months collects 100% of the primary insurance amount with no reduction.
The January 1 birthday rule (use the prior year)
The Social Security Administration treats anyone born on January 1 as if they were born in the prior year, so you read the chart using the earlier birth year (Source: SSA, 2026). A person born January 1, 1960, for example, uses the 1959 row and reaches full retirement age at 66 and 10 months rather than at a flat 67.
How much do you get if you claim early or delay?
Claiming before full retirement age permanently reduces your benefit, and delaying past FRA raises it. For a worker whose FRA is 67, filing at 62 pays about 70% of the full benefit, while waiting to 70 pays 124%. The early reduction is 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for earlier months; delayed credits add 8% per year (Source: SSA Office of the Chief Actuary, 2026).
| Age you claim (FRA 67) | Percent of full benefit |
|---|---|
| 62 | 70% |
| 63 | 75% |
| 64 | 80% |
| 65 | 86.7% |
| 66 | 93.3% |
| 67 (full retirement age) | 100% |
| 68 | 108% |
| 69 | 116% |
| 70 | 124% |
Delayed retirement credits stop accruing at age 70, so waiting beyond 70 adds nothing. For a worker with an FRA of 66, delaying to 70 produces 132% of the full benefit, because 48 months of credits accrue instead of 36 (Source: SSA, 2026). The break-even age between claiming early and delaying depends on longevity and other income; our Roth conversion break-even framework uses the same longevity math many households apply to a claiming decision.
Does Social Security recalculate at full retirement age?
Yes, the Social Security Administration recomputes your benefit after full retirement age if earlier benefits were withheld under the retirement earnings test. When you reach FRA, the SSA adjusts your monthly amount upward to credit back the months in which benefits were withheld, so those dollars are not permanently lost (Source: SSA, 2026). Ongoing high earnings can also raise the benefit through an automatic annual recomputation.
2026 Social Security key numbers
Alongside the full retirement age chart, several 2026 figures shape what a benefit is actually worth. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is 2.8%, the maximum taxable earnings base is $184,500, and the maximum monthly benefit for a worker retiring at full retirement age is about $4,152 (Source: SSA, 2026). The table below collects the numbers most people look up with the chart.
| 2026 figure | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) | 2.8% |
| Maximum taxable earnings (wage base) | $184,500 |
| Maximum monthly benefit at FRA | about $4,152 |
| Earnings test limit, under FRA all year | $24,480 |
| Earnings test limit, year you reach FRA | $65,160 |
| Medicare Part B standard premium | $202.90 per month |
| IRMAA surcharge begins above (MAGI) | $109,000 single / $218,000 joint |
The IRMAA thresholds use the tax return from two years prior, so 2026 premiums are based on 2024 income. That two-year lookback is one reason some households watch taxable income closely in the years before and just after they claim, especially when planning required minimum distributions and the net investment income tax.
Working before full retirement age: the earnings test
If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, the retirement earnings test can temporarily withhold part of your benefit. In 2026, a person under FRA for the whole year can earn up to $24,480 before the SSA withholds $1 for every $2 above the limit. In the year you reach FRA, the exempt amount rises to $65,160 with $1 withheld for every $3 above it (Source: SSA, 2026).
Starting with the month you reach full retirement age, the earnings limit disappears entirely, and you keep every dollar of benefit no matter how much you earn (Source: SSA, 2026). Withheld amounts are not forfeited: the SSA recomputes and raises your monthly benefit after FRA to credit back the withheld months.
Full retirement age is not the same as Medicare at 65
Full retirement age and Medicare eligibility are two separate rules that readers often merge. Medicare eligibility begins at age 65 for nearly everyone, regardless of your FRA of 66 and 10 months or 67 (Source: SSA; CMS, 2026). Turning 65 does not mean you have reached full retirement age, and reaching FRA does not change your Medicare start date.
Because the two are decoupled, some people enroll in Medicare at 65 while delaying Social Security to grow the benefit toward 124%. Higher income can raise the 2026 Medicare Part B premium of $202.90 through IRMAA, based on the tax return from two years earlier (Source: CMS, 2026).
Spousal and survivor full retirement age differ from retirement FRA
Full retirement age is not a single number across every benefit type. The FRA for survivor benefits follows a separate schedule from the retirement FRA, so a widow or widower may reach full survivor benefits at a different age than their own retirement FRA (Source: SSA, Full Retirement Age for Survivor Benefits, 2026). Spousal benefits are also reduced for early claiming under their own formula.
A surviving spouse can begin reduced survivor benefits as early as age 60 (or age 50 if disabled), well before the age 62 floor for retirement benefits. Coordinating a survivor claim with a retirement claim is a common planning step, because the two benefits can be started in different years to let one grow (Source: SSA, 2026).
The pre-FRA window and Roth conversion planning
The years between leaving work and claiming Social Security are often lower-income years, because no benefit is yet flowing and wages have stopped. Some households use that window to consider a Roth conversion, since converting while in a lower bracket may reduce future required distributions and the taxes on later benefits (Source: IRS Pub 915, 2025). This is general education, not a recommendation.
A conversion adds taxable ordinary income in the year you make it, which can raise MAGI, affect IRMAA two years later, and change how much of a future benefit is taxable, depending on circumstances. Because the last conversion year that does not affect a Medicare premium is age 62, timing matters. Our guides on how much to convert to a Roth and the 2026 Roth conversion deadline walk through the mechanics many investors weigh before they claim.
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Frequently asked questions
At what age can you collect 100% of your Social Security?
You collect 100% of your Social Security benefit at full retirement age. That age is 67 for people born in 1960 or later and 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959, on a phased schedule that reaches back to 65 for people born in 1937 or earlier (Source: SSA, 2026). Claiming before FRA pays less than 100%, and delaying past FRA pays more.
Is it better to take Social Security at 62, 67 or 70?
No single age is universally better; the tradeoff is a smaller check for more years versus a larger check for fewer years. For an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 pays about 70% of the full benefit, 67 pays 100%, and 70 pays 124% (Source: SSA, 2026). The right choice depends on health, other income, and spousal or survivor factors.
Does Social Security recalculate at full retirement age?
Yes. If benefits were withheld under the earnings test before full retirement age, the Social Security Administration recomputes your monthly amount at FRA to credit back the withheld months, so those dollars are not lost (Source: SSA, 2026). Continued high earnings can also trigger an automatic annual recomputation that may raise your benefit.
What is my full retirement age if I was born in 1960?
If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is a flat 67 (Source: SSA, 2026). One exception applies: a January 1, 1960 birthday maps to the prior year, so it uses the 1959 schedule and an FRA of 66 and 10 months. For every other 1960 birthday, FRA is 67, first reached in 2027.
What is the full retirement age for someone born in 1959?
Full retirement age for someone born in 1959 is 66 and 10 months (Source: SSA, 2026). This cohort is the last before the schedule levels off at 67, and it reaches full retirement age across 2025 and 2026. Waiting until 66 and 10 months pays 100% of the primary insurance amount with no early-claiming reduction.
Do I get 100% of my Social Security benefit at 65?
No. For anyone born in 1955 or later, age 65 is before full retirement age, so a benefit claimed at 65 is reduced. With an FRA of 67, claiming at 65 pays about 86.7% of the full amount (Source: SSA, 2026). Age 65 is the Medicare eligibility age, which is a separate rule from Social Security FRA.
Can I get Social Security at 62 if my FRA is 67?
Yes. Age 62 is the earliest you can start retirement benefits, even when your full retirement age is 67. Claiming at 62 permanently reduces the benefit to about 70% of the full amount, a cut of roughly 30% (Source: SSA, 2026). If you keep working before FRA, the 2026 earnings test may also withhold part of that benefit.
