A new law set to take effect in 2025 will raise the minimum age requirement needed to receive social security benefits. Although the age requirement has been 65 until now, Congress is now preparing to implement the more complex law that first passed in 1983.
According to the 1983 law, social security benefits are calculated by the expected lifespan which varies from year-to-year.
What are the social security age changes in 2025?
For people born in 1958 for example, the full retirement age is 66 years and 8 months, KTLA 5 reported. Those born in the following year, however, can retire at 66 years and 10 months old to get full benefits. All people born between May 2, 1958 and Feb. 28, 1959 will qualify for full retirement benefits in 2025. As for people born in 1960, they can retire at age 67 for full benefits.
People who don’t want to wait for their full retirement age can receive benefits at age 62, but that means they will get a reduced amount. Retirees who wait until age 70 will get higher benefits.
The amount is based on cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment
As Blavity previously reported, the amount rewarded to retirees is based on the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, which is calculated according to the inflation rate.
Shannon Benton, executive director of The Senior Citizens League, said her group is working to make sure senior citizens receive what they deserve.
“Ensuring that seniors have enough to feed and house themselves with dignity is a major reason why we advocate for a minimum COLA of 3%,” Benton said in a statement, per CBS News. “Approximately two-thirds of seniors rely on Social Security for more than half of their monthly income and 28% depend on it entirely.”