Social Security to rename claiming ages: Here’s what it means for your monthly check

We may soon have to change the way we talk about Social Security retirement ages after the Senate passed the Claiming Age Clarity Act on Tuesday. If President Donald Trump signs the bill into law, some new retirement benefit-related terminology will be on its way.

Social Security retirement ages could get new names

As a general rule, the later you claim Social Security retirement benefits, the higher your monthly payments will be. Currently, the earliest age at which most people can claim retirement benefits is 62, known as the “early eligibility age.” Claiming benefits at 62 can reduce monthly payments by up to 30% compared with waiting until full retirement age.

Waiting several years, until age 66 or 67, depending on when they were born, allows beneficiaries to receive 100% of the benefits they have earned. This is known as “full retirement age.”

However, waiting until age 70, “maximum benefit age,” to claim enables you to receive the highest possible Social Security retirement benefit for your situation. Waiting the three extra years generally bumps up your paycheck by 8%.

The terminology, though, is set to change to make things clearer for those approaching or already at retirement age.

“This straightforward legislation aims to simplify bureaucratic jargon which may mislead Americans into making poor financial decisions,” said Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) when introducing the Claiming Age Clarity Act in September 2025.

Under the proposed legislation, the changes would be as follows:

• “Early eligibility age” would become “minimum benefit age.”
• “Full retirement age” would become “standard benefit age.”
• References to age 70 as the maximum age for earning delayed retirement credits would use “maximum benefit age.”

How else will Claiming Age Clarity Act affect Social Security benefits?

The name changes are not expected to affect how much beneficiaries receive or how their payments are calculated. The bill would change the terminology used by the Social Security Administration, not the underlying benefit rules.

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