Full Retirement Age by Birth Year
Full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which you can claim 100% of your Primary Insurance Amount: no reduction for filing early, no bonus for waiting. It is a reference point in the benefit formula, not a requirement to stop working and not the age that maximizes your lifetime benefits. Everything in Social Security claiming math is measured in months before or after this one age, so getting your exact FRA right is the foundation of every breakeven calculation.
The official table
The schedule below is the official SSA table (source: ssa.gov/oact/progdata/nra.html). Congress set it in the 1983 amendments and it has not changed since:
| Year of birth | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Workers born in 1937 or earlier have an FRA of 65, and the 1938-1942 birth years step up in two-month increments from 65 and 2 months to 65 and 10 months. If you were born in 1960 or later, which covers everyone currently planning retirement, your FRA is 67, flat and simple.
Why the table has steps
Before 1983, FRA was 65 for everyone. The 1983 Social Security amendments raised it gradually to 67 to reflect longer life expectancies and shore up the program's finances. The two-month steps for the 1955-1959 birth years are the tail end of that phase-in. Because the change was fully phased in for the 1960 birth year, the table has been stable for decades: anyone born in 1960 or later reads 67 and moves on.
The January 1 rule
SSA has one quirk worth knowing: if you were born on January 1 of any year, the agency treats you as born in the previous year for FRA purposes. Someone born January 1, 1960 is assigned the 1959 FRA of 66 and 10 months, not 67. If you were born on the 1st of any month, SSA figures your benefit as if your birthday fell in the previous month. For the vast majority of people these rules change nothing, but if your birthday is January 1, check the previous row.
What your FRA changes, and what it does not
Your FRA sets the center of your claiming math. Claim before it and your monthly benefit is reduced (5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months early, 5/12 of 1% per month beyond that). Claim after it and you earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year for workers born in 1943 or later) up to age 70. Two common misunderstandings: first, your FRA is not when you must stop working; you can work as long as you like, and once you reach FRA the earnings test no longer reduces your benefit. Second, your FRA is not the age that gives you the most money over your lifetime; that depends on how long you live, which is exactly what the breakeven calculator on this site computes.
Using the table in your plan
Find your birth year, note the months, and use that as the anchor for every claiming comparison. A 1965 birth year means FRA 67: claiming at 62 costs 30%, waiting to 70 gains 24%. A 1957 birth year means FRA 66 and 6 months: claiming at 62 costs 27.5%, waiting to 70 gains 28%. Small differences in the anchor move the breakeven ages, so enter your real birth year rather than rounding to 66 or 67.
What to do once you know your FRA
Your FRA is the input, not the decision. First, pull your official benefit estimates at 62, at your FRA, and at 70 from your my Social Security account; SSA computes these with the exact month counts, including any January 1 or first-of-month adjustments. Second, plug your PIA and birth year into the breakeven calculator on this site to find your crossover ages for 62 versus FRA and FRA versus 70. Third, layer in the non-math factors: your health outlook, whether you are still working (the earnings test only bites before FRA), and your spouse's benefit picture. People who treat FRA as a finish line either claim too early by default or delay without knowing what the delay is buying. The table gives you the anchor; the breakeven math tells you what each side of the anchor is worth.
A note on older birth years
If you were born before 1943, your FRA sits between 65 and 66 and your delayed retirement credits accrue at 6.5% to 7.5% per year rather than 8%. The table above still gives your correct FRA, but the payoff for delaying is slightly smaller than for younger workers. Conversely, your early-claiming reduction at 62 is also smaller (20% to 25% instead of 30%), because fewer months separate 62 from your FRA. The same breakeven logic applies; only the percentages shift.
Frequently asked questions
Is full retirement age 67 for everyone now?
For retirement benefits, FRA is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. Older birth years have lower FRAs, stepping down to 65 for those born in 1937 or earlier, per the official SSA table.
Does full retirement age mean I have to stop working?
No. FRA is only a benefit-calculation reference point. You can keep working past it, and once you reach FRA the earnings test stops reducing your benefit even if you claim while still employed.
What if I was born on January 1?
SSA treats you as born in the previous year for FRA purposes, which can shift your FRA down by two months. If you were born on the 1st of any month, benefits are figured as if your birthday were in the previous month.
Could Congress change the full retirement age again?
It is possible; the current schedule was itself set by the 1983 amendments. Any change would require new legislation, and proposals surface regularly. Base your plan on current law and recheck if Congress acts.