For the record:
12:54 p.m. Dec. 24, 2024: A previous version of this story and headline claimed that the full retirement age for Social Security would be raised in 2025 for everyone. In actuality, the retirement age increases apply primarily to persons born between 1943 and 1959. The government now sets full retirement benefits for people born on or after 1960 at age 67.
If you expect to retire soon, double-check your arithmetic, because a legislation implemented in the 1980s steadily raised the age at which you can collect your full Social Security benefits.
In1983, Congress passed a law for receiving full Social Security benefits from 65 to 67. This shift was felt over decades as Americans approached retirement age, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. The increase attempted to match rising life expectancy.
According to the Social Security Administration, full retirement age determines eligibility for unreduced Social Security retirement benefits. Your birth year determines the year and month in which you reach full retirement age.
Those born in 1959 will reach the age of eligibility for full benefits in 2025, depending on the month.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, most Americans believe the usual retirement age is 65, as it has been for the majority of Social Security’s history.
The bill raised the retirement age for anyone born in 1938 or later, according to Social Security officials. The retirement age has increased by two months with each following birth year until those born in 1960 or after.
If you were born in 1957, for example, you would have reached your full retirement age — and become eligible to receive full Social Security benefits — at 66 years and 6 months. If you were born in 1958, you must be 66 years and 8 months old to receive full benefits.
For people born in 1960 or after, the full retirement age is presently 67.
Social Security participants have the option of claiming benefits before the full retirement age. You can start collecting benefits as soon as you turn 62, but the amount will be significantly reduced, around 25% if your full retirement age is 66 and 30% if it is 67.
If you wait until you reach 70 to begin receiving benefits, you will be rewarded with a higher monthly sum.
The Social Security online calculator can help you determine when you can collect your full retirement benefits and what you can receive if you retire early.
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