All right, let’s talk about something important: when you retire and start taking your Social Security benefits. Americans are facing some of the biggest retirement changes in almost a century now. In 2026, the full retirement age (also known as “FRA”) will legally be 67. What that means is if you were born in 1960 or after, you won’t get your full monthly Social Security benefit until age 67 — unless you’d rather take less by retiring early.
But there’s more. Social Security might run out of full funding in 2034 unless Congress steps in. That’s why when to retire — 62, 65, 67, or 70 — might make a big difference to your bottom line.
What is full retirement age?
Your age of full retirement is your age at which you qualify for your full Social Security benefits with no reduction. This used to be 65. It’s increasing to 67 now. This was in the works years ago, after President Ronald Reagan signed the Social Security Amendments in 1983 to keep the system from bankrupting itself.
So, what happens if you retire at different ages?
Let’s illustrate it with an example. If your full monthly benefit at 67 is $1,800, here’s what you’d get if you retired at different ages:
- At 62 (early retirement): You get approximately 70% of your full benefit. That’s $1,260 a month — but remember, it’s cut for life.
- At 65: You’d get around 87% of the total amount, which would be about $1,560 per month.
- At 67 (your full retirement age): You get the full benefit — $1,800 per month.
- At 70 (maximum delayed retirement): You’d get about 124% of your full benefit — around $2,323 per month.
- After 70, your benefit no longer goes up, so there is no additional financial gain in waiting anymore.
Why did the retirement age change?
When Social Security began in 1935, people did not live as long. The life expectancy was only 61 years. That didn’t mean many people lived to see benefits. These days, most people live until their late 70s or beyond. That puts a bigger load on Social Security because there are more people collecting benefits for more years.
To help keep the program solvent, Congress incrementally raised the full retirement age. Starting in 1990, the age began to rise incrementally, two months every two years. In 2026, it will have reached 67 and stay there, at least for a while.
Read this much later:
The bottom line
You don’t necessarily have to retire at your full retirement age. You can retire earlier or later. But when you choose to retire determines how much money you’ll get each month for the rest of your life. If you need to make more money, and you’re healthy enough to keep working, waiting until 67 or 70 might be a better option.
