Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age

Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age

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Updated March 15, 2022
Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age
Background
Figure 1. Social Security Retired-Worker Benefits,
Social Security provides monthly cash benefits to retired or
Claiming Age Distribution, 1985-2020
disabled workers and their family members, as well as to
the family members of deceased workers. The Social
Security full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which
retired workers can first claim full Social Security retired-
worker benefits. The FRA was 65 at the inception of Social
Security in 1935. As part of legislation enacted in 1983
(P.L. 98-21), starting with workers born in 1938, the FRA
increased by two months every birth year until the FRA
reached 66 for workers born in 1943 to 1954 and then
increased again in two-month increments until the FRA
reached 67 for workers born in 1960 or later.
Retired workers can claim retirement benefits as early as
age 62 (the earliest eligibility age, or EEA). Benefits
claimed between age 62 and the FRA, however, are subject
to a permanent reduction for early retirement. For each of
the 36 months immediately preceding the FRA, the monthly

rate of reduction from the full retirement benefit is five-
Source: Social Security Administration, Annual Statistical
ninths of 1%. For each month earlier than three years (36
Supplement, 2000-2021, Table 6.A4, and Table 6.B5.
months) before the FRA, the monthly rate of reduction is
Notes: The RET was repealed in 2000 for workers who have
five-twelfths of 1%. Therefore, for a worker with an FRA
reached the FRA (P.L. 106-182). The proportion of retired workers
of 65, claiming benefits at 62 results in a 20% permanent
who claimed Social Security benefits at age 66 includes those
reduction in his or her monthly benefit. The reduction is
between ages 66 and 69 during 1985-1998.
25% if the FRA is 66 and 30% if the FRA is 67.
In 2000, for those reaching age 62, the FRA began to
A retired worker who claims benefits after the FRA may
increase. Starting with retired workers born in 1938, the
receive a delayed retirement credit (DRC). The maximum
FRA increased from age 65 in two-month increments until
age at which the DRC applies is age 70. Any further delay
the FRA reached 66 for workers born in 1943-1954. As a
in claiming benefits past age 70 does not result in a higher
higher FRA results in a larger benefit reduction at age 62,
benefit. Under current law, the amount of the credit varies
the proportion of retired workers who claimed benefits at
based on the worker’s year of birth. The credit for workers
the FRA has increased and those who claimed benefits at
born in 1943 or later is 8% per year.
age 62 has declined since 2003. The trend was affected by
the economic recession (2007-2009) when some people
Age Distribution of Social Security
claimed Social Security benefits early in response to the
Benefit Claims for Retired Workers
high unemployment rate. When the FRA reached age 66 for
those born in 1943, age 66 replaced age 65 as the second
By Calendar Year
peak age at which retired workers claimed Social Security
Before 2000, most retired workers claimed their retirement
benefits. Since then, there has been a continuing decline in
benefits at either age 62 (the EEA) or the FRA. In most
the proportion of retired workers who claimed benefits at
years between 1985 and 1999, about three-quarters of
age 62 and an increase in the proportion of retired workers
retired-worker benefits were awarded to workers who
who claim benefits at the FRA of 66. The proportion of
claimed benefits at age 62 or the FRA (see Figure 1), 20%
retired workers who claimed benefits at age 65 dropped but
were awarded to retired workers older than the EEA but
still remained above 11% after 2009.
younger than the FRA, and the remaining 5% were awarded
to retired workers who claimed benefits after the FRA.
The RET results in a withholding of monthly benefits for
However, the age distribution of Social Security benefit
Social Security beneficiaries whose earnings exceed certain
claims has shifted to later ages in the past two decades.
thresholds set in law. In 2000, Congress repealed the RET
Several factors are likely to have contributed to the change
for workers who have reached the FRA (P.L. 106-182) in
in Social Security benefit claiming ages, including changes
order to encourage older people to work. The earnings test
in the FRA, the retirement earnings test (RET), the DRC,
now applies only to beneficiaries who are under the FRA.
the economic environment, and the population age
Numerous studies have found evidence that this provision
distribution.
encouraged more workers at and above the FRA to claim
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Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age
Social Security benefits at the FRA, as their benefits would
Workers who were born between 1943 and 1951 have an
not be reduced for earnings. This among other reasons lead
FRA of 66. The proportion of those workers aged 62-69
to a larger proportion of retired workers claiming benefits at
who claimed Social Security benefits at age 62 decreased
the FRA and a smaller proportion at age 62 in 2000.
from 45% to 42%, the proportion of those who claimed
benefits at age 65 declined from 23% to 12%, and the
In addition, studies show that the increase in the DRC
proportion of those who claimed benefits at the FRA
increased the incentive to take up benefits after the FRA,
increased from 14% to 24%.
thus shifting the claiming age distribution of Social Security
benefits toward later ages. Comparing workers who were
The change in the distribution of Social Security benefit
born in 1925 with those born in 1943 or later, the DRC
claiming age is relatively consistent for both male and
increased from 3.5% per year to 8%. The proportion of
female workers. But women were generally more likely
retired workers who claimed benefits after attaining the
than men to claim benefits at age 62, the EEA, and were
FRA increased from about 4% in 2010 (when people born
less likely to claim benefits at the FRA (see Figure 3).
in 1943 attained age 67) to 16% in 2020.
Figure 3. Social Security Retired-Worker Benefits
Baby boomers, who were born between 1946 and 1964,
Claiming Age Distribution by Gender, Birth Year
started to attain the EEA of 62 in 2008. So the change in the
1933-1951
age distribution of Social Security benefit claims among
retired workers also reflects the change in the population
age distribution.
By Birth Year
To analyze the behavior of each birth cohort, Figure 2
displays the proportion of retired workers between the ages
of 62 and 69 who claimed Social Security benefits at age
62, 65, and 66 for workers in the birth cohorts from 1933 to
1951. (People born in 1951 attained age 69 in 2020.)
As noted earlier, the FRA gradually increased from age 65
to 66 for workers who were born between 1938 and 1943.
Since a higher FRA results in a larger benefit reduction at
the EEA of 62, the proportion of workers in the 1938-1943
birth cohorts who claimed benefits at age 62 declined, and
the proportion of those workers who claimed benefits at the

FRA increased. For workers who were born in 1943, when
Source: Social Security Administration, Annual Statistical
the FRA reached age 66, the proportion of workers who
Supplement, 2000-2021, Table 6.A4.
claimed benefits at the age of 66 increased more than 12
percentage points compared with the prior cohorts.
Other Factors
In addition to the policy changes discussed above, some
Figure 2. Social Security Retired-Worker Benefits
other factors may also affect the ages at which retired
Claiming Age Distribution, Birth Year 1933-1951
workers claim Social Security benefits. For example, one
study finds that receipt of the Social Security Statement, a
benefit estimate statement made available to workers by
Social Security Administration since 1995, decreases the
likelihood of benefit claiming at earlier ages and increases
the likelihood of claiming at later ages such as 65. Some
provisions in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (P.L. 114-
74) changed certain Social Security benefits filing rules and
will possibly affect the claiming behavior of some retired
workers at the FRA and older.
Further, some studies suggest that couples like to retire
together, and because husbands tend to be older than their
wives on average, the increased labor force participation of
women since the 1960s may lead to later retirement of men.
Researchers have also shown that peers at the workplace or
those closest in age tend to have an impact on individual

retirement decisions, so policies that encourage later
Source: Social Security Administration, Annual Statistical
retirement spillover to adjacent cohorts and amplify the
Supplement, 2000-2021, Table 6.A4.
effect of changes in retirement incentives.
Notes: The RET was repealed in 2000 for workers who have
reached the FRA (P.L. 106-182).
Zhe Li, Analyst in Social Policy
IF11115
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Social Security Retirement Benefit Claiming Age

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