Full retirement age: your month, and what starting early or late does
Enter your birth date to find your full retirement age, the month you reach it, and the share of your full benefit you would get starting at each age from 62 to 70. If you know your benefit at full retirement age, add it to see monthly amounts.
Where the numbers come from
Full retirement age comes from the official table by date of birth: 66 for people born from 1943 through 1954, rising two months a year to 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Someone born on January 1 uses the year before.1
| Born in | 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 |
Born on January 1? Use the year before.
The month you reach each age follows Social Security's rule that you reach an age on the day before your birthday.2 For people born on the 1st, every age falls a month earlier than the birthday suggests.
The earliest month you can start is the first month you are 62 for the whole month. That is your birthday month if you were born on the 1st or 2nd, and the month after it otherwise.3
Starting early
The reduction is 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age, and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that.4 With a full retirement age of 67, starting in your earliest month is 59 months early for most people, which pays a little more than 70% of the full amount. People born on the 2nd of a month can start one month sooner: 60 months early, which pays 70%.
Starting late
Each month you wait past full retirement age, up to the month you reach 70, adds 2/3 of 1%, or 8% a year.5 Waiting from 67 to 70 adds 24%. Nothing more is added after 70.
About the dollar amounts
If you enter your benefit at full retirement age (your Social Security statement shows it), the tool multiplies it by each percentage and rounds to the nearest dollar. Social Security's own rounding works in dimes and dollars at set steps, so its figures can differ by a dollar or so.4 Cost-of-living adjustments, 3.6%6 for 2027, are added on top of whatever you start with.
Things it leaves out
- Spousal and survivor benefits, which have their own rules.
- The earnings test: if you start before full retirement age and keep working, part of your benefit can be held back. For 2027, $1 for every $2 above $25,5607.8
- Taxes on benefits, and the Part B premium.
More background is in full retirement age, explained. As with every tool here, the date you type stays in your browser.