Free tool

Social Security Retirement Age Calculator

Enter your birth year to find your Full Retirement Age (FRA) and see how your monthly benefit changes if you start claiming Social Security from age 62 to age 70.

Year you were born

Your Full Retirement Age depends on your birth year and was set by Congress in 1983.

Your Full Retirement Age is --

At your Full Retirement Age, you receive 100% of your earned Social Security benefit. Claim earlier and you get less; claim later (up to age 70) and you get more.

Your benefit at each claiming age

Percentages relative to your benefit at Full Retirement Age. The "earliest at 62, biggest at 70" rule applies to almost everyone.

Claiming age	Monthly benefit	Notes

How to read this

If your FRA benefit is for example $2,000/month, multiply that figure by each percentage to estimate your actual benefit at each age. Claiming at 62 typically means $1,400-1,500/month for life; claiming at 70 typically means $2,480-2,640/month for life. Use the SSA estimator at ssa.gov/myaccount for your real numbers based on your earnings history.

This calculator is for general information only and does not include spousal benefits, the earnings test, or tax implications. See our guide on when to apply for Social Security retirement for the full picture.

How Full Retirement Age is determined

Full Retirement Age (FRA) is set by federal law and depends on the year you were born. For everyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67. For people born 1943-1954, FRA is 66. For birth years between those ranges, FRA gradually increases by two months at a time. The earliest possible claim is age 62 (with a permanent reduction), and there is no benefit to waiting past age 70.

Why the claiming age matters so much

Each year you claim before FRA cuts your monthly benefit permanently. Each year you wait past FRA (up to 70) adds about 8% to your monthly benefit, also permanently. Over a 20-30 year retirement, the difference between claiming at 62 and 70 typically totals tens of thousands of dollars. There is no single right age — it depends on your health, financial situation, and life expectancy.