Social Security retirement age: which of the five ages people mean
Ask five people what the retirement age is and you may get five right answers. Each one switches on a different rule.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
There is no single Social Security retirement age. Retirement benefits can start at 62, in practice at 62 and 1 month for most people, at 70% of the full amount when full retirement age is 67. Full retirement age itself is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later and between 66 and 66 and 10 months for people born from 1943 to 1959. Delayed retirement credits stop at 70, when the check reaches 124% of the full amount for a full retirement age of 67; waiting longer adds nothing. Two other ages often get mixed in: 60, the earliest age for widow and widower benefits, and 65, the age at which Medicare starts whatever you decide about Social Security. No age forces you to stop working: the earnings test only applies before full retirement age, and the law sets no age by which you must claim. For someone born in mid-1964, those ages fall in 2024, 2026, 2029, 2031 and 2034.
Every Social Security age for your birth year
Full retirement age
67 (in 2031)
| Earliest retirement check, 62 and 1 month | 2026 |
| Widow(er) benefits from 60 | 2024, full at 67 |
| Medicare at 65 | 2029 |
| Delayed credits stop at 70 | 2034 |
Years shown for a mid-year birthday. Born on January 1? Use the year before.
Five ages, five different switches
60 is the earliest age for a widow or widower who is not disabled, at 71.5% of the deceased's benefit. 62 is the earliest age for your own retirement benefit and for a spouse benefit, both permanently reduced. 65 opens Medicare. Full retirement age, between 66 and 67 depending on the birth year, pays your full PIA and ends the earnings test. 70 is where delayed credits stop. When someone says "retirement age", they usually mean full retirement age, but some mean 62, the first possible check, and others 65, the Medicare age.
Your ages by birth year
| Born in | First check possible | Full retirement age (year) | Share at 70 (year) | Survivor full age |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 2017 | 66 and 2 months (2021) | 130.7% (2025) | 66 |
| 1956 | 2018 | 66 and 4 months (2022) | 129.3% (2026) | 66 |
| 1957 | 2019 | 66 and 6 months (2023) | 128.0% (2027) | 66 and 2 months |
| 1958 | 2020 | 66 and 8 months (2025) | 126.7% (2028) | 66 and 4 months |
| 1959 | 2021 | 66 and 10 months (2026) | 125.3% (2029) | 66 and 6 months |
| 1960 | 2022 | 67 (2027) | 124.0% (2030) | 66 and 8 months |
| 1964 | 2026 | 67 (2031) | 124.0% (2034) | 67 |
| 1970 | 2032 | 67 (2037) | 124.0% (2040) | 67 |
The share at 70 depends on how many months lie between full retirement age and 70, each earning 2/3 of 1% under 20 CFR 404.313. A person born in 1955, with a full retirement age of 66 and 2 months, earns more credit months than someone born in 1960 and ends at a higher percentage. The ages themselves come from 20 CFR 404.409 and the SSA's retirement age table.
Why 62 is not really 62
To be entitled for a month, you must be 62 throughout that month. Since the SSA counts you as reaching an age the day before your birthday, only people born on the 1st or 2nd of a month are 62 for their whole birthday month. Everyone else starts at 62 and 1 month at the earliest. The difference is small, one month of reduction less, but it explains why first checks never quite match calculators that assume exactly 62.
Full retirement age has moved; Medicare has not
For people born in 1937 and before, full retirement age and Medicare age were both 65. The full retirement age has since risen to 67, while Medicare eligibility stayed at 65. The SSA says most people sign up for Part A and Part B when first eligible, typically at 65, and that someone already receiving Social Security at 65 is enrolled in Part A automatically. A person who waits until 67 or 70 for Social Security has to sign up for Medicare separately; delaying one does not delay the other.
Survivors have their own calendar
Widows and widowers follow a second full retirement age table that runs two years behind the retirement one: 66 for those born from 1945 to 1956, rising to 67 only for people born in 1962 or later. Between 60 and that age, the survivor benefit is reduced; at that age it reaches 100% of what the deceased was entitled to. For the earnings test, though, the SSA uses the retirement full retirement age, as its page on working while receiving benefits states. The survivor calculator applies both.
No mandatory age, but a practical deadline
Nothing forces you to claim at any age. Past 70, however, each month without a check is simply lost, since there is no credit to earn and an application only reaches back 6 months (20 CFR 404.621). That retroactive window also has a floor: it cannot reach back to a month before full retirement age if that would reduce the benefit. In practice, people who plan to wait apply a few months before their 70th birthday.
Work is a separate question. You can keep working while collecting at any age. Before full retirement age, the earnings test holds back part of your benefits above a yearly limit; from that age, earnings no longer matter, as described in working after full retirement age.
Which age matters for your decision
For the size of your own check, the comparison is between 62, full retirement age and 70: each month earlier costs 5/9 of 1% (5/12 beyond 36 months) and each month later earns 2/3 of 1%. For a couple, the survivor age of the lower earner matters as much as the claiming age of the higher earner. For health coverage, 65 is the date to plan around. The pages on starting at 62 and waiting until 70 take each end in turn, and the full retirement age tool gives the exact month from your date of birth.