I Hit Full Retirement Age in 2026: Here’s How the New ‘Age 67’ Rule Changed My Check

🎯 10 Key Takeaways You Need Right Now

1. Age 67 is now permanent. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is locked at 67. There is no further scheduled increase under current law.

2. Claiming at 62 now costs you 30%. With a full retirement age of 67, taking benefits at the earliest possible age permanently slashes your monthly check by 30%, up from the 25% reduction when the full retirement age was 65.

3. The 2026 maximum benefit at age 62 is $2,969. At age 67, it jumps to $4,152. At age 70, it reaches $5,181. The difference is staggering.

4. The average retiree now receives $2,071 per month. That’s after the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment applied in January 2026, an increase of roughly $56.

5. Medicare Part B premiums ate $17.90 of your Cola. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90, so your real net increase is closer to $38 per month.

6. The earnings test will claw back money if you work before full retirement age. In 2026, Social Security deducts $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480 if you’re under full retirement age all year.

7. Delayed retirement credits are worth 8% per year. For every year you wait past your full retirement age up to 70, your benefit grows by 8%. That’s a guaranteed return no investment can match.

8. The trust fund depletion date moved closer. The 2025 Trustees Report projects the combined Social Security trust funds will be depleted by 2034, one year earlier than the previous estimate, at which point only 81% of benefits could be paid.

9. The Social Security Fairness Act changed the math. Enacted January 5, 2025, this law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, increasing benefits for millions of public-sector retirees but accelerating the trust fund’s depletion timeline.

10. The taxable earnings cap jumped to $184,500. In 2026, you pay Social Security payroll taxes on the first $184,500 of income, up $8,400 from 2025.

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📅 Your Birth Year Literally Determines the Size of Your Check, and Most People Get This Wrong

The full retirement age isn’t a single number. It’s a sliding scale based on the year you were born, and the differences between birth years can mean hundreds of dollars per month in permanent benefit reductions or increases. Here’s the exact breakdown that matters right now.

🎂 Birth Year	📅 Full Retirement Age	📉 Reduction if Claiming at 62	🏁 When You Hit Fra
1955	66 years, 2 months	~25.8%	Already passed
1956	66 years, 4 months	~26.7%	Already passed
1957	66 years, 6 months	~27.5%	Already passed
1958	66 years, 8 months	~28.3%	2024-2025
1959	66 years, 10 months	~29.2%	2025-2026
1960 or later	67 years, 0 months	30.0%	2027 or later

That final jump to 67 for the 1960 birth cohort is the end of the line. Under current law, the full retirement age will stay at 67 indefinitely. However, the Congressional Budget Office has analyzed proposals to gradually raise it further to age 70 for workers born in 1981 or later. Nothing has been enacted, but the policy discussion is very much alive.

The critical detail most people miss: born in 1959 is not the same as born in 1960. Those two months of difference in full retirement age translate to a meaningfully different reduction percentage if you claim early, and a different number of delayed retirement credits if you wait.

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💸 Here’s Exactly How Much 2026 Retirees Can Collect at Every Key Age (and the Math Behind It)

The Social Security Administration publishes maximum benefit figures for people retiring at specific ages. But these numbers only apply to individuals who earned at or above the taxable maximum for 35 years. Most people will receive substantially less. Still, these figures illustrate the enormous financial stakes of your claiming decision.

🎯 Claiming Age in 2026	💰 Maximum Monthly Benefit	📊 Compared to Fra Benefit	💡 Who This Applies To
62 (earliest possible)	$2,969	30% less than Fra	Born in 1964, claiming immediately
65	Varies by birth year	~13.3% less than Fra	Born in 1961
67 (full retirement age)	$4,152	100% of earned benefit	Born in 1959 (Fra in late 2025/2026)
70 (maximum credits)	$5,181	24% more than Fra	Born in 1956, waited to 70

For current retirees already collecting, the absolute maximum possible monthly benefit in 2026 is $5,251, which applies to someone who retired in 2025 at the maximum and received the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment. That’s approximately $63,000 per year from Social Security alone, which is comparable to the median earnings of a full-time American worker.

But reality looks very different. The average retired worker in January 2026 receives approximately $2,071 per month. Married couples collecting on both records average about $3,208 combined. These averages tell the real story of how most Americans experience Social Security.

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📉 Claiming at 62 With an Fra of 67 Is Dramatically More Punishing Than It Used to Be

This is the piece of the puzzle that catches people born in 1960 and later completely off guard. When the full retirement age was 65, claiming at 62 meant accepting a 20% permanent reduction. Now that the full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 means a 30% permanent reduction. That’s a 50% increase in the penalty for the exact same behavior.

The reduction formula works like this. For the first 36 months you claim before your full retirement age, benefits are reduced by five-ninths of 1% per month, which equals about 6.67% per year. For any additional months beyond 36, benefits are reduced by five-twelfths of 1% per month, which equals 5% per year. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 means you’re 60 months early: 36 months at the higher rate (20% total) plus 24 months at the lower rate (10% total) equals a 30% permanent cut.

⏰ Months Before Fra	📉 Reduction Rate	💵 Effect on $2,000 Fra Benefit
1-36 months early	5/9 of 1% per month (~6.67%/year)	$2,000 → $1,600 (at 36 months early)
37-60 months early	5/12 of 1% per month (~5%/year)	$1,600 → $1,400 (at 60 months early)
Total at 62 (60 months early)	Combined 30% reduction	$2,000 → $1,400 permanently

That word “permanently” cannot be overstated. This isn’t a temporary discount. Once you claim early, your benefit is reduced for life. The annual cost-of-living adjustments apply on top of the reduced amount, so you’re getting 2.8% of a smaller base forever. Over a 25-year retirement, claiming at 62 instead of 67 with a $2,000 primary insurance amount costs you approximately $180,000 in cumulative benefits (before Cola adjustments).

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📈 Delayed Retirement Credits Are the Best-Kept Secret in the Entire Federal Government

If claiming early is the penalty box, delayed retirement credits are the vip lounge. For every month you wait past your full retirement age to claim Social Security, your benefit increases by two-thirds of 1%. That adds up to 8% per year, compounding on your full benefit amount, up to age 70.

For someone with a full retirement age of 67 who waits until 70, that’s three full years of delayed credits: 24% more than their full benefit, permanently, for life.

🎂 Claiming Age (Fra = 67)	📈 Delayed Credit	💵 Effect on $2,000 Fra Benefit	💰 Annual Benefit
67 (Fra)	0%	$2,000/month	$24,000
68	+8%	$2,160/month	$25,920
69	+16%	$2,320/month	$27,840
70	+24%	$2,480/month	$29,760

That $480 per month difference between claiming at 67 and 70 adds up to $5,760 per year. Over a 20-year retirement from age 70 to 90, that’s $115,200 in additional lifetime benefits before cost-of-living adjustments. With Cola, the advantage compounds even further because each annual increase is calculated on your larger base.

There is absolutely no benefit to waiting past age 70. Delayed retirement credits stop accumulating entirely at that point. If you’re already 70 and haven’t claimed, file immediately.

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💼 The 2026 Earnings Test Will Shock You If You’re Working and Collecting Before Full Retirement Age

Here’s where Social Security gets genuinely punitive for people who claim early but keep working. If you’re under your full retirement age for the entire year of 2026 and you earn more than $24,480, Social Security will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that threshold.

In the year you reach your full retirement age, the rules loosen slightly. Social Security only withholds $1 for every $3 you earn above $65,160, and only counts earnings in the months before you hit your full retirement age.

💼 2026 Earnings Test	💵 Threshold	📉 Withholding Rate
Under Fra all year	$24,480/year ($2,040/month)	$1 withheld per $2 over limit
Year you reach Fra (months before Fra only)	$65,160/year ($5,430/month)	$1 withheld per $3 over limit
At or past Fra	No limit	$0 withheld, keep everything

The critical detail nobody emphasizes: the money withheld under the earnings test is not lost forever. Once you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your benefit to credit you for the months when benefits were withheld. Your monthly payment increases to reflect those withheld months. But until that recalculation happens, you’re operating on a reduced cash flow, which can create real budgeting problems.

If you’re at full retirement age or older for all of 2026, you can earn unlimited income without any reduction in benefits whatsoever.

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👫 Spousal and Survivor Benefits Changed Too, and the Stakes Are Enormous

The shift to a full retirement age of 67 doesn’t just affect your own retirement benefit. It reshapes the entire landscape of spousal and survivor benefits, and the claiming strategies that couples use can mean tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.

A spouse can receive up to 50% of the higher-earning partner’s full retirement benefit at their own full retirement age. If the spouse claims before reaching their own full retirement age, the spousal benefit is permanently reduced. With an Fra of 67, a spouse claiming spousal benefits at 62 would see a 35% reduction from the full spousal amount.

Survivor benefits follow a different calculation. A surviving spouse can receive up to 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit at their own full retirement age. If the survivor claims as early as age 60, the benefit is reduced but still substantial. The full retirement age for survivor benefits is slightly different from the regular full retirement age, reaching 67 for survivors born in 1962 or later.

👫 Benefit Type	💰 Maximum at Fra	📉 Reduction at 62	📋 Key Rule
Own retirement benefit	100% of your Pia	30% reduction	Based on your earnings record
Spousal benefit	50% of spouse’s Pia	35% reduction	Must be married at least 1 year (or have eligible child)
Divorced spousal benefit	50% of ex-spouse’s Pia	35% reduction	Marriage lasted 10+ years, currently unmarried
Survivor benefit	100% of deceased’s benefit	Reduced at 60	Can switch to own benefit later if higher
Divorced survivor benefit	100% of deceased ex’s benefit	Reduced at 60	Marriage lasted 10+ years

The strategy that sophisticated financial planners use: a lower-earning surviving spouse can claim reduced survivor benefits as early as age 60, then switch to their own maximized retirement benefit at age 70. This “claim and switch” approach effectively gives you two income streams at different life stages and can optimize total lifetime benefits by tens of thousands of dollars.

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🔮 The Trust Fund Is Now Projected to Run Dry by 2034, and Here’s What That Actually Means for Your Check

The 2025 Trustees Report, released in June 2025, delivered a sobering update. The combined Social Security trust funds are now projected to be depleted by 2034, one year earlier than the previous year’s estimate of 2035. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund specifically, which pays retirement and survivor benefits, is projected to run out in 2033 with only 77% of scheduled benefits payable.

Three factors drove the accelerated timeline. First, the Social Security Fairness Act, enacted January 5, 2025, repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, which increased benefit obligations. Second, the Trustees extended the assumed period of recovery from historically low fertility rates. Third, the share of Gdp going to worker compensation was projected lower than previously assumed.

🏛️ Trust Fund Status (2025 Report)	📅 Projected Depletion	💵 Benefits Payable After Depletion
Oasi (retirement + survivors)	2033	77% of scheduled benefits
Di (disability)	Not depleted in 75-year window	100% payable
Combined Oasdi (hypothetical)	2034	81% of scheduled benefits
Trust fund reserves end of 2024	$2.72 trillion (declining)	—

Let’s be extremely clear about what this means and doesn’t mean. Social Security is not going bankrupt. Even after trust fund depletion, the program would still collect approximately $1.3 trillion annually in payroll taxes, enough to pay roughly 81 cents of every dollar in scheduled benefits. The program would continue operating indefinitely at that reduced level unless Congress acts.

What Congress could do to fix it, according to the Trustees: an immediate payroll tax increase from 12.4% to approximately 15.6%, or an immediate benefit reduction of about 19-23%, or some combination. The longer Congress waits, the larger the required adjustments become.

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🧮 The $202.90 Medicare Premium That Silently Eats Your Cola Every January

This is the annual gut punch that every retiree experiences but few fully understand until they see their first January deposit. Your Social Security cost-of-living adjustment is announced as a percentage increase, but what actually lands in your bank account is the Cola minus any increase in your Medicare Part B premium.

In 2026, the standard Medicare Part B premium is $202.90 per month, an increase of $17.90 from the 2025 premium of $185.00. For most retirees, this premium is automatically deducted from their Social Security check.

📊 2026 Cola Reality Check	Amount
Average monthly benefit before Cola	~$2,015
2.8% Cola increase	+$56
Gross new benefit	~$2,071
Medicare Part B premium increase	-$17.90
Net actual increase in your check	~$38.10

That $38 net increase amounts to roughly $1.27 per day. When housing costs in many metro areas have risen 5-8% annually and healthcare spending for seniors grows even faster, many retirees describe the Cola as barely treading water. The fundamental problem, as policy researchers have pointed out repeatedly, is that the Cola is calculated using the Cpi-W index, which tracks spending patterns of urban wage earners and clerical workers, not the spending patterns of retirees who face disproportionately higher medical and housing costs.

Higher-income retirees face an additional Medicare surcharge called Irmaa (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) that can push Part B premiums well above $200 per month depending on income reported on their tax return from two years prior.

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📞 The Complete Contact Directory for Every Social Security Question, Problem, and Appeal

When something goes wrong with your benefits, or when you simply need guidance navigating the system’s complexity, knowing who to call and when is the difference between getting answers and getting a runaround. Here is every meaningful contact point.

📞 Who to Call	🔢 Number	🕐 Hours	📋 What They Handle
🏛️ Social Security Administration	1-800-772-1213	Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm local time	Benefits questions, claiming, appeals, earnings record corrections
🏛️ Ssa Tty line	1-800-325-0778	Mon-Fri, 8am-7pm local time	Hearing-impaired access to all Ssa services
💻 My Social Security online	ssa.gov (my Social Security account)	24/7	View benefit estimates, Cola notices, earnings history, apply online
🏥 Medicare	1-800-633-4227 (1-800-Medicare)	24/7, every day	Part B premium questions, enrollment, coverage issues
🏥 Medicare Tty	1-877-486-2048	24/7, every day	Hearing-impaired Medicare access
🛡️ Ship (free Medicare counseling)	Visit shiphelp.org for your state	Varies by state	Unbiased plan comparisons, Extra Help applications, enrollment assistance
📢 Ssa Inspector General (fraud)	1-800-269-0271	Business hours	Report Social Security fraud, identity theft affecting benefits
🏛️ Ftc identity theft	reportfraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-438-4338	24/7 online	Report identity theft affecting your Social Security number
📋 Social Security office locator	ssa.gov/locator	24/7 online	Find your nearest field office for in-person appointments

Your my Social Security account at ssa.gov is the single most important tool you can set up today if you haven’t already. It shows your personalized benefit estimate at ages 62, 67, and 70 based on your actual earnings history. It also shows your complete earnings record, which you should review carefully because errors in your earnings history directly reduce your benefit calculation. If you find a year with missing or incorrect earnings, you have a limited window to correct it with Ssa.

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🛡️ Five Moves to Make Right Now If You’re Turning 66 or 67 in 2026

Rather than leaving you with just information, here are the specific actions that can materially improve your financial outcome this year.

Move 1: Create or log into your my Social Security account and verify your earnings record. Social Security calculates your benefit using your 35 highest-earning years. If even one year is missing or underreported, your benefit is permanently reduced. You can request corrections with Form SSA-7050.

Move 2: Run your benefit estimates at 62, 67, and 70 and calculate your break-even age. The break-even point is the age at which total lifetime benefits from waiting exceed total benefits from claiming early. For most people with average health, the break-even falls between ages 78 and 82. If you expect to live past your break-even age, waiting pays off dramatically.

Move 3: Understand how your spouse’s benefit interacts with yours. If one spouse earned significantly more, coordinating claiming strategies can add tens of thousands to your household’s lifetime benefits. The lower earner might claim early while the higher earner delays to 70, maximizing the survivor benefit for whoever lives longer.

Move 4: Check whether you qualify for the more generous earnings test in the year you reach full retirement age. If you’re reaching Fra in 2026, the earnings limit jumps to $65,160 and the withholding rate drops to $1 per $3 over the limit, but only for months before you hit Fra. After your Fra month, there’s no limit at all.

Move 5: Factor Medicare Part B into your retirement income calculation before you claim. If you’re not yet 65, remember that Medicare eligibility still begins at 65 regardless of your full retirement age. If you delay Social Security past 65, you’ll need to pay Part B premiums out of pocket or set up direct billing rather than having them deducted from a check that doesn’t exist yet.

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💬 The Hard Truth That Washington Won’t Say Out Loud About the Age 67 Rule

The 1983 law that raised the full retirement age was sold as a modest, gradual adjustment to reflect increasing life expectancy. And on paper, it was. Two months per birth year, phased in over decades, with a six-year pause in the middle. Barely noticeable in any single year.

But the cumulative impact is anything but modest. For someone born in 1960 with a full retirement age of 67, the effective benefit at age 62 is 30% lower than what someone born in 1937 received at the same age when the full retirement age was 65. That’s not inflation adjustment. That’s not a cost-of-living difference. That’s a structural benefit reduction disguised as a retirement age increase.

And the financial pressure on the system hasn’t gone away. The 2025 Trustees Report projects depletion of the retirement trust fund by 2033, with automatic benefit cuts of 23% if Congress does nothing. The Congressional Budget Office has actively modeled scenarios where the full retirement age rises further to 68, 69, or even 70 for future generations.

For anyone born after 1960, the message is unambiguous: the retirement architecture your parents relied on has fundamentally changed, and the only protection you have is understanding the rules well enough to maximize every dollar the system will give you. That means knowing your full retirement age down to the month, understanding how early claiming and delayed credits work mathematically, monitoring your earnings record for accuracy, and making a claiming decision based on your personal health, financial needs, and family situation rather than fear or misinformation.

The system is complicated by design. Your job is to be smarter than the system. And now you have the tools to do exactly that.