Age to Collect Social Security: How Claiming Age Works

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Contents

Age 62 is generally the earliest retirement-benefit age
Full retirement age depends on the year of birth
Claiming age changes the monthly amount
Working and collecting benefits are separate decisions
Retirement age is not the age for every Social Security program
Benefit estimates are record-specific
Sources

Key Facts

Federal level: A worker’s Social Security retirement benefits can generally begin at age 62 if the work-credit requirements are met.
Federal level: Starting retirement benefits before full retirement age produces a reduced monthly amount based on the number of early months.
Federal level: Full retirement age depends on birth date and is 67 for people born January 2, 1960 or later.
Federal level: Delayed retirement credits can increase a retired worker’s benefit after full retirement age, but credits stop at age 70.
Federal level: Medicare eligibility at age 65 is a separate issue from the age chosen to start Social Security retirement benefits.

The age to collect Social Security retirement benefits is not one universal number: age 62 is generally the earliest starting point, full retirement age is the point for an unreduced worker benefit, and age 70 is when delayed retirement credits stop.

Age 62 is generally the earliest retirement-benefit age

A retired worker generally must be at least 62 and have enough covered work—commonly 10 years or 40 credits—to qualify on the worker’s own earnings record.

Eligibility at 62 does not mean the payment equals the full-retirement-age amount, because federal rules reduce the benefit according to how many months early entitlement begins.

Full retirement age depends on the year of birth

For retired workers, full retirement age is 66 for birth years 1943 through 1954, rises by two months for each birth year from 1955 through 1959, and reaches 67 for people born January 2, 1960 or later.

A January 1 birthday is treated under the previous birth year’s row, an exception that can change the applicable full retirement age by two months.

Full retirement age means the first age for an unreduced retirement benefit; it is not a mandatory retirement date and does not prevent covered work from continuing.

Claiming age changes the monthly amount

Starting before full retirement age generally creates a lasting reduction, while delaying after full retirement age earns credits for eligible months through age 70.

No additional delayed retirement credit is earned after age 70, so waiting beyond 70 does not increase the retirement amount merely because of further delay.

Working and collecting benefits are separate decisions

Stopping work and starting benefits need not occur at the same time, although lifetime earnings and claiming age both affect the payment calculation.

Before full retirement age, the retirement earnings test may withhold benefits when wages or net self-employment income exceed the applicable annual limit; from the month full retirement age is reached, that test no longer reduces benefits because of earnings.

A focused explanation of working while collecting Social Security covers that earnings-test distinction in more detail.

Survivor, disability, family, and Supplemental Security Income benefits use different entitlement rules, so age 62 and the retired-worker full retirement age do not answer every Social Security eligibility question.

Medicare generally uses age 65 for age-based eligibility, which can create a Medicare enrollment question even when Social Security retirement benefits are delayed.

Benefit estimates are record-specific

A worker’s amount reflects the earnings record as well as claiming age, and a Social Security account can display estimates for different starting ages.

The start month is selected through a Social Security retirement application, and benefits are ordinarily paid in the month after the month for which they are due.