Your full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which you qualify for 100% of your Social Security benefit — the number every other claiming decision is measured against. Claim before it and your check is permanently reduced. Wait past it and you earn delayed retirement credits up to age 70.
Your FRA is not one age for everyone. It depends entirely on the year you were born, from 65 for those born in 1937 or earlier to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Below is the complete SSA table, an interactive lookup for your own year, and the early-claim penalty and delay-gain math that both anchor on your FRA.
The full retirement age table by birth year
SSA publishes the full retirement age as a single schedule by year of birth. The same table drives every figure in our break-even calculator, so the numbers you see here match the calculator exactly.
| Year of birth | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1937 or earlier | 65 years |
| 1938 | 65 years, 2 months |
| 1939 | 65 years, 4 months |
| 1940 | 65 years, 6 months |
| 1941 | 65 years, 8 months |
| 1942 | 65 years, 10 months |
| 1943–1954 | 66 years |
| 1955 | 66 years, 2 months |
| 1956 | 66 years, 4 months |
| 1957 | 66 years, 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 years, 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 years, 10 months |
| 1960 or later | 67 years |
The FRA steps up in two-month increments from 1938 through 1942, holds at 66 for the large 1943–1954 cohort, climbs in the same two-month steps through 1959, and reaches 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later.
Interactive FRA lookup
Pick your year of birth below to see your exact FRA, the permanent reduction for claiming at 62, and the gain from waiting to 70 — plus what each means for a $2,000 benefit.
- Your full retirement age
- 67 years
- Around (illustrative mid-July birthday)
- July 2027
- Claiming at 62 reduces your benefit
- 30%
- Waiting to 70 increases your benefit
- +24%
| Claim age | 62 | FRA | 70 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly benefit | $1,400 | $2,000 | $2,480 |
Why your FRA matters
Your FRA is the anchor for the two rules that change your benefit for life:
- Claim before FRA and SSA applies a permanent reduction — 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before FRA, then 5/12 of 1% for each additional month.
- Claim after FRA and you earn delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% per month (8% a year) up to age 70.
Both are measured against your FRA, which is why a two-month difference in FRA changes the penalty at 62 and the maximum gain at 70. For numbers that reflect your exact birth date, use the lookup above rather than generalizing from a different birth year.
Claiming early vs. FRA vs. 70
The two cohorts that cover most people alive today are the FRA-66 cohort (born 1943–1954) and the FRA-67 cohort (born 1960 or later). Here is the 62 / FRA / 70 math for both, on a $2,000 PIA:
| Claim age | FRA 66 cohort (born 1943–1954) | FRA 67 cohort (born 1960+) |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | $1,500 −25% | $1,400 −30% |
| FRA | $2,000 (100%) | $2,000 (100%) |
| 70 | $2,640 +32% | $2,480 +24% |
For the FRA-66 cohort, the +32% at 70 comes from 48 months × 2/3 of 1% (66 to 70). For the FRA-67 cohort it is 36 months × 2/3 of 1% (67 to 70), which caps the gain at +24%.
The full trade-off — permanent reductions, delay credits, and the point where waiting pays off — is what our break-even calculator is built for. For a deeper look at each pair, see 62 vs 66, 62 vs 67, 66 vs 70, and our step-by-step break-even method.
The FRA-66 cohort is claim-eligible now
Anyone born between 1943 and 1954 reached FRA long ago, and all of them are now past age 70 — the point where delay credits stop accruing. Born in 1943? You're 83 in 2026. Born in 1954? You're 72 (you reached FRA 66 in 2020 and age 70 in 2024).
The cohorts in or near the claiming window are younger. Born in 1958? You're 68, and your FRA of 66 years 8 months was reached around 2024. Born in 1959? You're 67, and your FRA of 66 years 10 months is reached in 2026 — right now. Born in 1960? You're 66, and your FRA of 67 arrives in 2027.
If that describes you, your claiming decision is already live. The lookup above gives the exact FRA date, penalty, and delay gain for your year; the break-even calculator turns them into your personal break-even age.
Survivor benefits have their own FRA
The table above is for your own retirement benefit. Survivor benefits use a separate SSA schedule with its own full retirement age, and it rises more slowly than the retirement table — survivor FRA only reaches 67 for people born in the early 1960s or later. So a surviving spouse can have one FRA for their own benefit and a different one for a survivor benefit.
Survivor planning also uses its own reduction rules, so we don't reproduce that schedule inline here. Check SSA's survivor chart for the full table.