Full Retirement Age for Social Security, by Year of Birth

Your full retirement age for Social Security is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. It is 66 if you were born from 1943 through 1954, and it rises by two months for each year of birth from 1955 through 1959 (SSA’s table by year of birth; 20 CFR 404.409). Full retirement age is the age at which Social Security pays your full benefit, with no cut for starting early. If you were born on January 1, go by the year before.

Type your date of birth to see your full retirement age, the month you reach it, the first month you could start at 62, and the share of your full benefit at each age from 62 to 70. The table under it covers every year of birth from 1943. Medicare runs on its own age, 65, which is covered further down.

What is my full retirement age by year of birth?

Find your year of birth in this list. These ages apply to your own retirement benefit and to a spouse’s benefit; widows and widowers have a table of their own, further down.

• 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

Full retirement age used to be 65. SSA’s regulation raises it in steps for people born after January 1, 1938, and it reaches 67 for everyone born after January 1, 1960 (20 CFR 404.409). If you were born before 1943, your age was between 65 and 65 and 10 months, and you have already reached it.

Roll the blind to your year of birth

Full retirement age, by year of birth

1. 194366Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
2. 194466Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
3. 194566Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
4. 194666Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
5. 194766Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
6. 194866Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
7. 194966Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
8. 195066Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
9. 195166Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
10. 195266Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
11. 195366Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
12. 195466Share of the full benefit: 75% at 62132% at 70
13. 195566 and 2 monthsShare of the full benefit: 74.17% at 62130.67% at 70
14. 195666 and 4 monthsShare of the full benefit: 73.33% at 62129.33% at 70
15. 195766 and 6 monthsShare of the full benefit: 72.5% at 62128% at 70
16. 195866 and 8 monthsShare of the full benefit: 71.67% at 62126.67% at 70
17. 195966 and 10 monthsShare of the full benefit: 70.83% at 62125.33% at 70
18. 1960+67Share of the full benefit: 70% at 62124% at 70

Born in 1960 or later: full retirement age 67. Start at 62 and you get 70% of your full benefit; wait to 70 and you get 124%.

Born June 15, 1966 (the calculator’s example): you reach 67 in June 2033. The first month at 62 is July 2028, at 62 and 1 month, with 70.42%.

Earlier yearYear of birth19431960+Later year

What if you were born on January 1?

Use the year before. SSA’s table says so, and the reason is in its rules: you reach an age on the day before your birthday (20 CFR 404.102). Someone born on January 1, 1960 reaches every age on December 31 of the year before, so for Social Security they count as born in 1959, and their full retirement age is 66 and 10 months, not 67.

The same day-before rule moves the month for anyone born on the 1st of a month. Born on August 1, 1961, you reach 67 on July 31, 2028, so July 2028 is the month you reach full retirement age, not August.

When is the first month you can get benefits at 62?

It is the first month in which you are 62 for the whole month: your birthday month if you were born on the 1st or 2nd, and the month after it if you were born on any other day. Before full retirement age, benefits can start only with a month you are 62 “throughout” (20 CFR 404.311). Born on the 2nd, you reach 62 on the 1st, so the whole month counts. Born on the 3rd or later, you reach 62 partway through your birthday month, so you start the next month. Born on the 1st, you reach every age a month early: you can start in your birthday month, but your full retirement age also comes a month sooner, so you are still 59 months early.

For someone born on June 15, 1966, the first possible month is July 2028. That start is 59 months before full retirement age instead of 60, so the benefit is 70.4% of the full amount rather than 70%. Their full retirement age of 67 arrives in June 2033.

Apply in time if you want to start early. In most cases a benefit that is cut for age cannot be paid for months before the month you apply (20 CFR 404.621). After full retirement age it is different: you can ask for up to 6 months of benefits before the month you apply.

What share of your full benefit do you get at each age?

Born in 1960 or later, you get 70% of your full benefit at 62, 75% at 63, 80% at 64, 86 2/3% at 65, 93 1/3% at 66, 100% at 67 and 124% at 70. Each month before full retirement age costs 5/9 of 1% for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month before that (20 CFR 404.410). Each month after it adds 2/3 of 1%, up to 70 (20 CFR 404.313).

Here are SSA’s percentages for every year of birth from 1943, at each birthday from 62 to 67 and at 70 (SSA’s table):

• 1943 to 1954 (full age 66): 75% at 62, 80% at 63, 86 2/3% at 64, 93 1/3% at 65, 100% at 66, 108% at 67, 132% at 70.
• 1955 (66 and 2 months): 74 1/6% at 62, 79 1/6% at 63, 85 5/9% at 64, 92 2/9% at 65, 98 8/9% at 66, 106 2/3% at 67, 130 2/3% at 70.
• 1956 (66 and 4 months): 73 1/3% at 62, 78 1/3% at 63, 84 4/9% at 64, 91 1/9% at 65, 97 7/9% at 66, 105 1/3% at 67, 129 1/3% at 70.
• 1957 (66 and 6 months): 72 1/2% at 62, 77 1/2% at 63, 83 1/3% at 64, 90% at 65, 96 2/3% at 66, 104% at 67, 128% at 70.
• 1958 (66 and 8 months): 71 2/3% at 62, 76 2/3% at 63, 82 2/9% at 64, 88 8/9% at 65, 95 5/9% at 66, 102 2/3% at 67, 126 2/3% at 70.
• 1959 (66 and 10 months): 70 5/6% at 62, 75 5/6% at 63, 81 1/9% at 64, 87 7/9% at 65, 94 4/9% at 66, 101 1/3% at 67, 125 1/3% at 70.
• 1960 or later (67): 70% at 62, 75% at 63, 80% at 64, 86 2/3% at 65, 93 1/3% at 66, 100% at 67, 124% at 70.

The percentages are for a start in the month you reach each age. If you start at 62 and 1 month, as anyone born after the 2nd of a month must, the share is a little higher; the calculator above shows yours. They apply to your own retirement benefit. A spouse’s benefit is cut faster, by 25/36 of 1% a month for the first 36 months (20 CFR 404.410(b); see spousal benefits), and a survivor’s benefit has a scale of its own.

1. 6270% of the full amount
2. 6375%
3. 6480%
4. 6586.67%
5. 6693.33%
6. 67100%: full retirement age
7. 68108%
8. 69116%
9. 70124%: no more credits after 70

Is full retirement age different for widows and widowers?

Yes. Survivor benefits have their own table, which runs two birth years behind the one for retirement (20 CFR 404.409(b)). As in the first table, each year starts on January 2, so someone born on January 1 goes by the year before.

• 1945 to 1956: 66
• 1957: 66 and 2 months
• 1958: 66 and 4 months
• 1959: 66 and 6 months
• 1960: 66 and 8 months
• 1961: 66 and 10 months
• 1962 or later: 67

The reason is the starting age. Survivor benefits can start at 60 instead of 62 (20 CFR 404.409(c)), and the law phased in the higher age by the year a person reaches that earliest age, so survivors got each step two birth years later. A widow born in 1961 has a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months for survivor benefits, but 67 for her own retirement benefit. A survivor who starts at 60 gets 71.5% of the full survivor amount, rising to 100% at the survivor’s full retirement age (SSA’s survivor benefits page). More on survivor benefits.

Does full retirement age change when Medicare starts?

No. Medicare starts at 65, whatever your full retirement age. Medicare’s rules give hospital insurance (Part A) from 65 to people who get Social Security, or who could get it and apply for Medicare (42 CFR 406.10). Part B is open from 65 to people who meet its residence rules (42 CFR 407.10).

So you do not have to start Social Security to get Medicare. If you wait to 67 or 70 for your benefit, you still apply for Medicare at 65. Like Social Security, Medicare counts you as 65 from the day before your 65th birthday.

What changes when you reach full retirement age?

Four things change in the month you reach it:

• No cut. A benefit that starts in that month is your full benefit, which SSA calls the primary insurance amount (20 CFR 404.312). A spouse who starts at their own full retirement age can get up to half of it (SSA).
• No earnings limit. From that month on you can earn any amount without SSA holding back benefits (SSA’s earnings test). If benefits were held back before, your monthly amount is raised to make up for it. See the earnings limit.
• Delayed credits start. Each month you wait from then until 70 adds 2/3 of 1% to your benefit. See claiming at 62, 67 or 70.
• You can suspend. If you already get benefits, you can ask SSA to stop them and earn delayed credits until 70 (20 CFR 404.313).

Is the full retirement age going up?

Not under the law as it stands. The Social Security Act sets 67 for everyone who reaches 62 after 2021 (42 U.S.C. 416(l)), and SSA’s table ends at 67 for everyone born after January 1, 1960. Raising it further would take a new law passed by Congress. We checked the rules as they stood on October 29, 2026; if they change, this page will change with them.

Figures checked October 29, 2026.

Questions people ask

What is the full retirement age for someone born in 1960?

67. The one exception is someone born on January 1, 1960: SSA counts them as born in 1959, so their full retirement age is 66 and 10 months.

What is my full retirement age if I was born in 1959?

66 and 10 months. Someone born on March 15, 1959, for example, reached it in January 2026.

Is full retirement age 66 or 67?

It depends on your year of birth: 66 for 1943 to 1954, 67 for 1960 or later, and 66 plus 2 to 10 months in between.

Can I get my full Social Security benefit at 66?

Only if your full retirement age is 66, which means you were born from January 2, 1943 to January 1, 1955. Born in 1960 or later, starting at 66 pays 93 1/3% of your full benefit.

Can I work after full retirement age and still get Social Security?

Yes, with no limit on your earnings: SSA stops counting them from the month you reach full retirement age. Before that month, earnings over the yearly limit mean benefits are held back.

Does full retirement age affect Medicare?

No. Medicare starts at 65 for people who get or could get Social Security, whatever their full retirement age (42 CFR 406.10).

Updated November 7, 2026