3 Things to Know About Changes to Social Security’s Full Retirement Age in 2026

For many retirees, Social Security is a critical income source.  Unfortunately, there is a lot of misunderstanding about exactly how benefits work, including what age you can claim your full benefit, and how your actual claiming age affects your monthly income.

Part of the challenge for retirees is that the rules change over time. While there are many different modifications that happen automatically to Social Security benefits each year, one of the biggest changes that has been occurring in recent years is that the full retirement age (FRA) for claiming benefits is moving later. This is happening again in 2026, and it has major implications for those who have not yet retired and who are making decisions about their benefits.

Changes to FRA are important for many reasons, and, in particular, there are three crucial things to know about the modifications that will be happening in 2026. Here’s what they are. 

1. Social Security’s full retirement age is moving later for future retirees

The first thing to know is that the full retirement age for claiming Social Security is moving later in 2026. Full retirement age is when your standard benefit can be claimed, unreduced by early filing penalties. That standard benefit is called your primary insurance amount, and it’s based on the average inflation-adjusted wages you earned during the 35 highest-paid years of your career. 

Your FRA depends on when you were born. If you turned 66 this year, your FRA is 66 and 10 months. But, if you turn 66 next year or at any point in the future, FRA is changing to 67. This change is part of a long-planned shift to FRA that was put into place in the 1980s to gradually move the full retirement age from 65 to 67. The change was necessary in order to stabilize the finances of Social Security when there was a shortfall. 

The planned change to an FRA of 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later is the last change that was ushered in by the 1980s reforms. Social Security is once again facing financial problems, and lawmakers may take the same tactic as they did in the past and move FRA to a later point. For now, though, unless or until there is a major change to the law, every future retiree will have a full retirement age of 67 when they can get their standard benefit.

2. The change to FRA will affect your benefit amount as well as work you can do while collecting benefits

The change to full retirement age in 2026 is going to affect your timing for claiming your Social Security checks.

If you are turning 66, you will not be able to claim next year at all unless you want to accept a reduction in benefits due to early filing penalties. This is a change relative to the age at which retirees before you could claim benefits. In the past, FRA was between 65 and 66 years and 10 months. The year 2026 marks the first year when seniors are going to have to wait until 67 for their full Social Security payment. 

The change doesn’t just affect when you can get your full benefit. It also impacts how old you must be in order to be able to work while collecting Social Security without your payments being reduced. If you work too much before full retirement age, you can forfeit some or all of your checks (the specific limit for how much you can earn changes on an annual basis). Once you have reached FRA, there is no longer a limit.

Since FRA is going to be later for anyone turning 66 in 2026 or in any of the following years, retirees will need to know that they may have to earn less to avoid losing Social Security payments or may have to wait a little longer to up their earnings when they want to double dip on Social Security and a paycheck. The good news is, those who are affected and who lose more of their Social Security temporarily will eventually get the money back. Your monthly benefit is recalculated at FRA if you missed some benefits due to work. Of course, because FRA is now later, this recalculation will also occur at a later point in your retirement.

3. The FRA change will change the amount you can add to your benefits

Finally, the change to full retirement age coming in 2026 will affect the amount of money that you can add to your monthly check by earning delayed retirement credits. Delayed retirement credits can be earned if you delay the start of your Social Security retirement benefit until after your full retirement age. 

Delayed retirement credits can be earned for each month you wait after FRA until age 70. Unfortunately, because full retirement age is now later, you have fewer chances to earn these credits. At most, you will now be able to earn three years of credits and can increase your benefits by a maximum of 24%. Retirees need to be aware there are fewer ways to increase benefits and plan accordingly.

Ultimately, it may be worth discussing how these changes should affect your retirement plans with a financial advisor. Your advisor can help you understand when your best claiming age is, as well as whether working while collecting benefits makes sense for you.