If you plan to retire soon, double-check your math, because a law passed in the ’80s has gradually increased the age when you can collect your full Social Security benefits.
In 1983, Congress passed a law that gradually increased the age at which people may receive 100% of their Social Security benefits from 65 to 67, a change that was felt over the following decades as Americans approached their retirement age, according to Bipartisan Policy Center. The increase aimed to match increasing life expectancy.
Full retirement age is when you become eligible for unreduced Social Security retirement benefits, according to the Social Security Administration. The year and month you reach full retirement age depends on the year you were born.
Those born in 1959 will start entering the age where they can claim their full benefits in 2025, depending on the month.
Most Americans consider the typical age of retirement to be 65, because that was the requirement throughout most of Social Security’s history, according to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The law increased the age beginning with people born in 1938 or later, Social Security officials said. The retirement age has been increasing by two months for each subsequent birth year up until those born in the year 1960 or later.
If you were born in 1957, for example, you would have reached your full retirement age — and become eligible to collect your full Social Security benefits — when you turned 66 years and 6 months. If you were born in 1958, you must be 66 years and 8 months old to claim your full benefits.
For those born in 1960 and later, the full retirement age is currently set at 67.
Social Security recipients have the option of claiming benefits earlier than the designated full retirement age. You can begin receiving your benefits as soon as you turn 62, but the amount will be greatly reduced, about 25% less if your full retirement age is 66 and 30% less if it’s 67.
If you wait until you turn 70 to start taking benefits, you will be rewarded with a higher monthly amount.
To figure out when you can claim your full retirement benefits or what you can claim if you retire early, use the Social Security online calculator.