The Social Security Retirement Age: An Overview

The Social Security Retirement Age: An Overview

link to page 1

February 9, 2023
The Social Security Retirement Age: An Overview
Introduction
Table 1. Age to Receive Full Social Security Benefits
Social Security is a work-based federal insurance program
that provides monthly cash benefits to workers and their
Full Retirement Age
eligible family members in the event of a worker’s
Year of Birth
(FRA)
retirement, disability, or death. The Social Security full
1937 or earlier
65
retirement age (FRA) is the age at which workers can first
claim full (i.e., unreduced) Social Security retired-worker
1938
65 and 2 months
benefits. (Disabled workers are subject to different rules.)
1939
65 and 4 months
Among other factors, a worker’s monthly benefit amount is
1940
65 and 6 months
affected by the age at which he or she claims benefits
1941
65 and 8 months
relative to the FRA. Workers can claim Social Security
retired-worker benefits as early as age 62, the early
1942
65 and 10 months
eligibility age (EEA). Workers who claim benefits before
the FRA are subject to a permanent reduction in their
1943-1954
66
benefits (to take into account the longer expected period of
1955
66 and 2 months
benefit receipt, also called an actuarial reduction). Workers
who claim benefits after the FRA receive delayed
1956
66 and 4 months
retirement credits that result in a permanent increase in their
1957
66 and 6 months
monthly benefits (to take into account the shorter expected
period of benefit receipt). The credits apply up to the age of
1958
66 and 8 months
70. Claiming benefits after attainment of age 70 does not
1959
66 and 10 months
result in any further increase in monthly benefits.
1960 or later
67
Benefit adjustments are made based on the number of
Source: Social Security Administration, https://www.ssa.gov/
months before or after the FRA the worker claims benefits.
planners/retire/retirechart.html.
The adjustments are intended to provide the worker with
Note: Persons born on January 1 of any year should refer to the
roughly the same total lifetime benefits, regardless of when
previous year of birth.
he or she claims benefits, based on average life expectancy.
Full Retirement Age
Actuarial Modification to Benefits:
Claiming Before or After the FRA
The FRA was 65 at the inception of Social Security in the
The primary insurance amount (PIA) is the benefit payable
1930s. In 1983, Congress increased the FRA as part of the
to the worker at his or her FRA. When a worker claims
Social Security Amendments of 1983 (P.L. 98-21), which
made major changes to Social Security’s financing and
benefits before the FRA, there is an actuarial reduction in
benefit structure to address the system’s financial
monthly benefits. The reduction for claiming benefits
before the FRA can be sizable and it is permanent; all
imbalance at the time. Among other changes, the FRA was
future monthly benefits are payable at the actuarially
increased gradually from 65 to 67 for workers born from
reduced amount. For each of the 36 months immediately
1938 to 1960 (see Table 1). Under the scheduled increases
preceding the FRA, the monthly rate of reduction from the
enacted in 1983, the FRA reaches 67 for workers born in
full retirement benefit is five-ninths of 1%. This equals a
1960 or later (i.e., those attaining age 62 in 2022 or later
6⅔% reduction to the PIA each year. For each month earlier
and age 67 in 2027 or later).
than three years (36 months) before the FRA, the monthly
rate of reduction is five-twelfths of 1%. This equals a 5%
The increase in the FRA, one of many provisions in the
1983 amendments designed to improve the system’s
reduction to the PIA each year.
financial outlook, was based on the rationale that it would
Workers who claim benefits after the FRA receive delayed
reflect increases in longevity and potential improvements in
retirement credits (DRC). As with the actuarial reduction
the health status of workers. The 1983 amendments did not
for early retirement, delayed retirement credits are
change the early eligibility age of 62; however, the increase
permanent. The DRCs have been modified over the years.
in the FRA results in larger benefit reductions for workers
Currently, the credit is an 8% increase in the PIA per year
who claim benefits between the age of 62 and the FRA
(two-thirds of 1% per month) for workers born in 1943 or
(discussed below).
later (i.e., workers who became eligible for retirement
benefits or turned age 62 in 2005 or later). The maximum
age at which the DRC applies is 70. Any further delay in
https://crsreports.congress.gov

link to page 2 link to page 2

The Social Security Retirement Age: An Overview
claiming benefits past age 70 does not result in a higher
Figure 2. Age Distribution of New Retired-Worker
benefit. (The retirement age and actuarial adjustment for
Beneficiaries in 2021
spousal and widow(er) beneficiaries are slightly different
from those for retired workers.)
Figure 1 illustrates the effect of claiming age on benefit
levels based on an FRA of 67. If the worker claims
retirement benefits at age 62, for example, his or her benefit
would be equal to 70% of the full benefit amount—a 30%
permanent reduction to the PIA based on claiming
retirement benefits five years before attaining the FRA. If
the worker delays claiming retirement benefits until age 70,
however, his or her benefit would be equal to 124% of the
full benefit amount—a 24% permanent increase to the PIA
for claiming benefits three years after the FRA.
Figure 1. Effect of Claiming Age on Benefit Levels
Based on an FRA of 67

Source: SSA, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2022, Table 6.A4.
Notes: Figure does not include disabled-worker beneficiaries who
were automatical y converted to retired-worker beneficiaries upon
attaining the FRA.
Proposals to Increase the Retirement
Age
The 1983 provision that increased the FRA from 65 to 67 is
fully phased in for those who turn age 62 in 2022 or later.
The increase in the FRA essentially reduces monthly
benefits at all claiming ages, thus reducing the program cost
on average. Research also shows that increasing the FRA
encourages many people to work longer and delay benefit
claiming, thereby increasing payroll tax contributions for
the Social Security program and the average claiming age
for Social Security benefits.
Over the years, many proposals have been put forth to
increase the FRA, increase the EEA, or both. Supporters of
increasing the retirement age contend that the average life
expectancy is increasing, health conditions of older workers
are improving, and job characteristics are more suitable for
older workers. Opponents of increasing the retirement age
Source: CRS.
often argue that gains in life expectancy and health status,
Notes: PIA = primary insurance amount. The PIA is the benefit
as well as changes in job characteristics, have not been
payable to the worker at his or her FRA.
equally distributed across individuals with different
characteristics such as sex, race, educational attainment, or
Age Distribution of New Retired-Worker income level. Therefore, some researchers argue that
Beneficiaries
increasing the retirement age may adversely affect Social
Security benefits for certain workers, particularly low-wage
Statistics published by Social Security Administration
workers or lower-educated workers.
(SSA) show that a majority of retired-worker beneficiaries
claim benefits before the FRA. Figure 2 shows the age
Additional Information
distribution of new retired-worker beneficiaries in 2021. Of
CRS Report R44670, The Social Security Retirement Age
the approximately 2.7 million new retired-worker
beneficiaries that year, 29% claimed benefits at age 62 (the
CRS Report R44846, The Growing Gap in Life Expectancy
first year of eligibility) and 57% were under the age of 66.
by Income: Recent Evidence and Implications for the Social
Approximately one-fourth (25%) of new retired-worker
Security Retirement Age
beneficiaries claimed benefits at age 66, while 18% were
age 67 or older. The percentage of retired-worker
CRS Report R47151, Social Security: Adjustment Factors
beneficiaries who claim benefits at earlier ages has declined
for Early or Delayed Benefit Claiming
in recent years. In 2010, for example, more than one-half
(52%) of new retired-worker beneficiaries were age 62, and
81% were under the age of 66. (For more information, see
Zhe Li, Analyst in Social Policy
CRS In Focus IF11115, Social Security Retirement Benefit
IF12323
Claiming Age.)
https://crsreports.congress.gov

The Social Security Retirement Age: An Overview

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF12323 · VERSION 1 · NEW