Four Different Ages Get Called "The Retirement Age"
Yours is almost certainly 67. But 62, 65 and 70 all do something, and mixing them up is how people lose money they didn't have to.
Your full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you were born between 1955 and 1959 it's somewhere between 66 and 2 months and 66 and 10 months. Born 1943 through 1954, it's 66.
Three other ages matter and none of them is your full retirement age. 62 is the earliest you can claim, at a permanently reduced amount. 65 is when Medicare starts, and it has nothing to do with Social Security. 70 is when delayed credits stop, so there's no reason to wait past it.
Under current law none of these is scheduled to change. The rise to 67 was legislated in 1983 and finished phasing in with the 1960 birth year.
Full Retirement Age by Birth Year
This is the age at which you receive 100% of the benefit your earnings record produced. Not more, not less.
| Birth year | Full retirement age | Benefit if you claim at 62 |
|---|---|---|
| 1943 to 1954 | 66 | 75% |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months | 74.2% |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months | 73.3% |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months | 72.5% |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months | 71.7% |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months | 70.8% |
| 1960 and later | 67 | 70% |
What Each Age Actually Does
They're not milestones on one track. Each one switches something different on or off.
| Age | What happens | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | Earliest you can claim retirement benefits, at a permanently reduced amount | Doesn't start Medicare, and doesn't stop the earnings test |
| 65 | Medicare eligibility begins | Has no effect on your Social Security benefit at all |
| 67 | Full benefit, and the earnings test stops applying | Isn't a deadline. Waiting longer still increases the benefit |
| 70 | Delayed retirement credits stop accruing, at about 124% of the full benefit | Nothing is gained by waiting beyond it |
The reduction for claiming early and the increase for delaying are both permanent. Claiming at 62 doesn't mean a smaller cheque until 67 and the full amount afterwards. It means a smaller cheque for life, and a smaller survivor benefit for a spouse who outlives you.
Which of those is right for you is a genuinely difficult question with a crossing point around age 80, and it's worked through in the 62 versus 70 guide.
Medicare at 65 Is a Separate Thing
This is the most expensive confusion on the list, because it costs real money rather than just causing a misunderstanding.
Medicare starts at 65 no matter what your full retirement age is. For anyone born in 1960 or later that creates a two-year stretch where you have health coverage but not a full benefit. More importantly, it creates a problem in the other direction: if you stop working before 65, nothing covers you until Medicare begins, and that gap has to be funded privately.
Is the Retirement Age Changing?
Not under current law, and that's worth stating plainly because the question gets asked constantly and the answers are usually either alarmed or vague.
The increase from 65 to 67 came from the 1983 Social Security amendments. It phased in over decades, one birth year at a time, and finished with people born in 1960. There is no further increase scheduled. If you were born in 1960 or later, 67 is your number under the law as it stands.
Proposals to change it appear regularly, and they go in both directions. In 2026 a bill was introduced that would lower full retirement age to 60 for people in physically demanding work such as construction, roofing, nursing and manufacturing, using a points system based on years in qualifying jobs. Other proposals over the years have gone the other way and would raise it.
A bill is not a law. None of these has passed, and introducing legislation is a long way from changing anyone's benefit. If the law does change, it has historically come with a long phase-in by birth year rather than applying to people already close to claiming.
When People Actually Retire
Full retirement age is a rule. The average retirement age is a fact about behaviour, and the two aren't close to each other.
Gallup's April 2026 data puts the average actual retirement age at about 61, up from 57 in 1991. Non-retirees expect to retire at about 66. That five-year gap has held steady for roughly two decades, which tells you it isn't a forecasting error people are gradually correcting.
Around 46% of retirees stopped working earlier than they planned. The reasons are mostly not "I could afford to": layoffs, health problems, and caring for someone else.
It also reframes the claiming question. Retiring at 61 doesn't force you to claim at 62. Those are separate decisions, and the years between stopping work and claiming are often the cheapest tax years of a whole retirement, which is why they're worth planning rather than drifting through.
Retirement Age FAQ
What is the full retirement age for Social Security?
67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Between 1955 and 1959 it rises in two-month steps from 66 and 2 months to 66 and 10 months. For 1943 through 1954 it's 66. Someone born on 1 January 1960 falls under the 1959 rule, making their full retirement age 66 and 10 months.
What's the earliest I can claim?
62 for retirement benefits. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 pays about 70% of your full benefit, and the reduction is permanent rather than something that corrects itself later.
Is the retirement age going up?
Not under current law. The rise to 67 was set in 1983 and finished phasing in with the 1960 birth year, and nothing further is scheduled. Bills are introduced regularly in both directions, including a 2026 proposal to lower it to 60 for physically demanding work, but none has passed.
Is Medicare at 65 the same as retirement age?
No. Medicare starts at 65 regardless of your full retirement age. If you retire before 65 you have to cover health insurance yourself until it begins, which is usually the largest single cost of retiring early.
What is the average retirement age?
About 61, against an expected 66, according to Gallup's April 2026 data. Roughly 46% of retirees left earlier than planned, mostly because of layoffs, health or caregiving rather than choice.
Do I have to claim Social Security when I retire?
No, and they're separate decisions. You can stop working at 61 and claim at 67, funding the gap from savings. The years between stopping work and claiming often have unusually low taxable income, which makes them useful for Roth conversions or simply for drawing down tax-deferred accounts cheaply.
Retire BFF is an independent publisher, not a registered investment adviser, tax adviser, or financial planner. This is general information about how the rules work, not advice about your situation. Benefit figures are the standard percentages for the stated full retirement ages; your own statement at ssa.gov is the authority on your record. Confirm current rules at ssa.gov before acting.