Social Security's Full Retirement Age Reaches 67 in 2027: What It Means for When You Claim
In 2027, the full retirement age for Social Security finishes its long climb to 67. People born in 1960 are the first group to reach a full retirement age of exactly 67. Here is what that changes, what it does not, and how the age you claim still moves your check by hundreds of dollars a month.
In 2027, the last piece of a change Congress passed in 1983 takes full effect. Social Security's full retirement age, the point at which you can collect 100 percent of the benefit you have earned, is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. People born in 1960 turn 67 in 2027, which makes them the first group to reach a full retirement age of exactly 67. The step-by-step increase set by the 1983 Social Security Amendments is now finished.
Nothing about your earned benefit is being cut. What changed, over a span of decades, is the age at which you reach the full amount. For anyone weighing when to file, the practical questions are the same as ever: claim early and take a smaller check for life, claim at full retirement age for the standard amount, or wait and get more. The sections below lay out what the 2027 mark actually means and what it costs or pays to claim at different ages.
What "full retirement age" actually means
Full retirement age is the age at which Social Security pays your full benefit, with no reduction. It is not the earliest age you can file, which is still 62, and it is not a deadline by which you must file. It is the reference point the formula uses. File before it and your monthly check is reduced. File after it, up to age 70, and your check is increased.
The number matters because Social Security calculates your reduction or increase from that age. With a full retirement age of 67, someone who files at 62 is filing 60 months early, which is why the reduction is as large as it is. The same person who waits until 70 is filing 36 months late, which is why the bonus is as large as it is.
Why 2027 is the milestone
The 1983 amendments, signed to shore up the program's finances, raised the full retirement age from 65 in stages tied to year of birth. For people born in 1937 or earlier it stayed at 65. It then climbed two months per birth year through the late 1950s before settling at 67. Here is how the last few birth years line up.
| Year you were born | Full retirement age |
|---|---|
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 or later | 67 |
People born in 1959, with a full retirement age of 66 and 10 months, reach it in 2026. People born in 1960 reach 67 in 2027. After that the full retirement age holds at 67 for everyone younger, so 2027 is the first year a 67-year-old is reaching the full amount on the dot.
What it costs to claim early
You can still file as early as 62, and many people do. The tradeoff is a permanent reduction. Social Security cuts the benefit by five-ninths of one percent for each of the first 36 months you file before full retirement age, then five-twelfths of one percent for each additional month. For someone with a full retirement age of 67, filing at 62 works out to a 30 percent cut that lasts for life.
On a full benefit of $2,000 a month, that is the difference between $2,000 at 67 and $1,400 at 62, about $600 less every month. Cost-of-living adjustments still apply on top, but they apply to the smaller base, so the gap carries forward. The table below shows the same $2,000 benefit at three common filing ages.
| Age you file | Share of full benefit | Monthly amount on a $2,000 benefit |
|---|---|---|
| 62 (earliest) | 70 percent | $1,400 |
| 67 (full retirement age) | 100 percent | $2,000 |
| 70 (latest worth waiting for) | 124 percent | $2,480 |
If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, a separate rule can temporarily hold back part of your check. In 2026 Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 if you are under full retirement age all year. In the year you reach full retirement age, the limit rises to $65,160 and the withholding is $1 for every $3, counting only what you earn before your birthday month. Those are the 2026 figures; the 2027 limits are announced on October 14, 2026, alongside the new cost-of-living adjustment. Money held back under this rule is not lost; it is added back once you reach full retirement age.
What you gain by waiting
Waiting past full retirement age works in your favor. For everyone born in 1943 or later, Social Security adds 8 percent for each full year you delay, up to age 70. That is two-thirds of one percent for each month you wait. Delay from 67 to 70 and your benefit grows to 124 percent of the full amount, a 24 percent raise that lasts for the rest of your life.
On that same $2,000 benefit, waiting until 70 lifts the check to about $2,480, roughly $480 more a month than at 67. The credits stop at 70, so there is no reason to wait any longer than that. Whether delaying pays off for you depends on your health, your savings, whether you are still working, and how long you expect to draw benefits.
Will the retirement age go higher?
Under current law, no. The climb that ends in 2027 is the last one on the books, and the full retirement age is not scheduled to rise above 67. Anyone born in 1960 or later has the same 67.
The topic keeps coming up because of the program's finances. The Social Security trustees, in their June 2025 report, projected that the retirement trust fund can pay full benefits until 2033, after which incoming payroll taxes would cover about 77 percent of scheduled benefits unless Congress acts. Some lawmakers have floated raising the retirement age further as one way to close that gap. None of those proposals is law, and raising the age would require an act of Congress. For now, 67 is the number.
What this means for you
There is no form to file and no deadline tied to the 2027 mark. Reaching full retirement age does not force you to claim, and you do not lose anything by passing it. The decision about when to file is yours, and for most people it is the single biggest lever over the size of the check. Claiming at 62 versus 70 can swing a benefit by more than 40 percent for life.
If a tight budget is pushing you to claim early, it is worth checking first whether other programs can ease the pressure, since the money you give up by filing early does not come back. See our guides to financial help available to seniors and Medicare Savings Programs and Extra Help, which can free up room in a fixed income without touching your filing date.
The bottom line: 2027 marks the end of a long, gradual change rather than a new cut. Your full retirement age is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later, you can still file anywhere from 62 to 70, and the age you pick sets your monthly amount for the rest of your life. Run your own numbers in your my Social Security account before you decide.
This article is a news report for general information and is not financial advice. Benefit figures used here are examples; confirm your own full retirement age and benefit amounts with the Social Security Administration at ssa.gov.
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