When should I take Social Security?

Your full retirement age depends on your birth year

The Social Security Administration calls this your “full retirement age” (FRA) — the age your benefit is paid at 100% of what you’ve earned. It rose gradually from 65 to 67 for people born between 1938 and 1960. If you were born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67.

Claiming before your FRA reduces the check — permanently

Claim at 62 (the earliest age allowed) and your benefit is reduced by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. For someone with an FRA of 67 claiming at 62 — 60 months early — that works out to a 30% permanent reduction. The reduction isn’t temporary: it applies for the rest of your life.

Waiting past your FRA increases it — up to age 70

For every year you delay past your FRA, up to age 70, your benefit grows by 8% a year (about 2/3 of 1% a month). Someone with an FRA of 67 who waits until 70 gets 24% more per month than they would have at 67 — and that higher amount is also what future cost-of-living increases apply to. There’s no benefit to delaying past 70; the credits stop there.

A worked example

What actually decides it

Still working? Claiming before your FRA while earning over the annual limit can temporarily withhold part of your benefit. Need the bridge years covered another way? See can I retire early if my benefits start later. When Can I Retire runs these numbers against your own statement, not a generic example.