Social Security’s retirement age hits 67 in 2027: Why that’s an important age to remember
There’s an important date ahead for millions of soon-to-be retirees.
Social Security benefits can be claimed starting at age 62 but there’s a penalty for doing so, reducing your monthly benefit by as much as 30% as compared to waiting until what the Social Security Administration calls “Full Retirement Age (FRA).” That’s the age in which you qualify for 100% of your retirement benefits.
From Social Security’s inception in 1935 until the passage of the Social Security Amendments of 1983, FRA was 65. In 1983, Congress passed legislation to gradually raise FRA to reflect increases in life expectancy.
The act established a gradual increase to the FRA, and, starting in 2021, the FRA has grown by two months a year. Currently, FRA is:
- People born 1943-1954 – Age 66
- People born in 1955 – 66 years and 2 months
- People born in 1956 – 66 years and 4 months
- People born in 1957 – 66 years and 7 months
- People born in 1958 – 66 years and 8 months
- People born in 1959 – 66 years and 10 months
- 1960 and later – 67 years
However, 67 is the cap for FRA. Under the current law, the target age is 67 and won’t climb any higher though some experts have floated the idea of increasing FRA to help address Social Security’s looming shortfall.
“(FRA) has finished its long, slow climb to 67. Anyone born in 1960 or later has a full retirement age of exactly 67, and that group reaches it in 2027,” Geoffrey Schmidt, a certified public accountant and founder of Holy Schmidt!, a retirement education resource, told Yahoo Finance. “Under current law, it does not go any higher. So, if you’ve been worried they’ll keep moving the goalposts on you, at least on the retirement age, that increase is over.”
There are advantages to waiting past FRA to retire. Social Security benefits increase roughly 8% each year you delay past your full retirement age until age 70. Waiting to age 70 also allows you to work while without any reductions to benefits.
Social Security provides an easy calculator if you need to determine your FRA. You can use that here.