There isn’t one retirement age in the United States. There are several, and which one matters depends on what you’re trying to do. The earliest you can claim Social Security is 62, with a permanent reduction. Your full retirement age, when Social Security pays 100% of what you earned, falls between 66 and 67 depending on the year you were born. Waiting until 70 gets you the largest possible monthly check. Medicare has its own age (65), and tax-deferred retirement accounts have theirs (73, rising to 75 in 2033). The current retirement age in the US is best understood as this set of thresholds rather than a single number.
Full Retirement Age by Birth Year
Full retirement age is the point at which Social Security pays you the full monthly benefit you earned over your career. If you were born between 1943 and 1954, that age is 66. Everyone born in 1960 or later has a full retirement age of 67. The years in between step up in two-month increments.1Social Security Administration. Normal Retirement Age
- 1955: 66 and 2 months
- 1956: 66 and 4 months
- 1957: 66 and 6 months
- 1958: 66 and 8 months
- 1959: 66 and 10 months
- 1960 or later: 67
One quirk: if you were born on January 1, Social Security treats you as if you were born in the prior year and uses that year’s full retirement age.1Social Security Administration. Normal Retirement Age
Claiming Social Security at 62
You can start collecting retirement benefits at 62. The tradeoff is a permanently smaller check. Social Security calculates the reduction month by month: for the first 36 months before your full retirement age, benefits shrink by 5/9 of 1% per month, and for any additional months beyond those 36, the reduction is 5/12 of 1% per month.2Social Security Administration. Benefit Reduction for Early Retirement
If your full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 means filing 60 months early, which works out to a 30% cut. A benefit that would have been $1,000 per month at 67 drops to $700 at 62. Spousal benefits use a slightly different formula and can shrink by up to 35% when claimed at 62.3Social Security Administration. Retirement Age and Benefit Reduction
The reduction doesn’t reverse at full retirement age. Your monthly amount stays at the reduced level for life. You also need at least 40 work credits (roughly 10 years of Social Security-covered employment) to qualify for any retirement benefit, whether you claim early or wait.4Social Security Administration. Social Security Credits and Benefit Eligibility
The Health Insurance Gap
One cost of retiring at 62 gets overlooked: Medicare doesn’t start until 65. That leaves up to a three-year gap in coverage. COBRA continuation from a former employer lasts only 18 months and requires you to pay the full premium plus an administrative surcharge of up to 2%, so it can’t bridge the entire gap on its own if you retire much before age 63 and a half. The Health Insurance Marketplace is the other main option, and premium subsidies there depend on household income. Sort this out before you file.
Waiting Past Full Retirement Age to 70
Every month you delay claiming past your full retirement age earns you a delayed retirement credit worth two-thirds of 1%, or 8% per year. Those credits stop accumulating at 70. There is no financial reason to wait longer.5Social Security Administration. Delayed Retirement Credits
Someone with a full retirement age of 67 who waits until 70 collects a monthly benefit 24% higher than they would have received at 67. A $1,000 full-retirement-age benefit becomes $1,240 per month for life.5Social Security Administration. Delayed Retirement Credits
Retroactive Lump Sums and Voluntary Suspension
If you’ve already passed your full retirement age and haven’t filed yet, you can request retroactive benefits going back up to six months. Social Security won’t pay retroactively for any month before you reached full retirement age.5Social Security Administration. Delayed Retirement Credits
If you’ve already started collecting but aren’t yet 70, you can ask Social Security to suspend your payments any time after reaching full retirement age. While payments are paused, you keep earning delayed retirement credits, and benefits restart automatically at 70. One catch: anyone collecting on your record, such as a current spouse, loses their benefits during the suspension. A divorced ex-spouse is exempt from that rule.6Social Security Administration. Suspending Your Retirement Benefit Payments
Working While Collecting Before Full Retirement Age
Taking benefits early while still earning income triggers the retirement earnings test. For 2026, if you’re under full retirement age for the entire year, Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the calendar year you reach full retirement age, the threshold rises to $65,160, and only $1 is withheld for every $3 in excess earnings. Only earnings before the month you hit full retirement age count against that higher limit.7Social Security Administration. Receiving Benefits While Working
Once you reach full retirement age, the earnings limit disappears. You can earn any amount without losing benefits.7Social Security Administration. Receiving Benefits While Working
The withheld benefits are not lost. When you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your monthly amount upward to account for the months your check was reduced or withheld. You end up treated as if you had claimed later than you actually did. The earnings test can still squeeze cash flow in the short term, but it isn’t the permanent hit many people assume.
Medicare at 65
Medicare eligibility begins at 65 no matter what your Social Security full retirement age is or when you plan to claim benefits.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 1395c – Description of Program Your initial enrollment period runs seven months: the three months before the month you turn 65, your birthday month, and the three months after.9Medicare. When Does Medicare Coverage Start
Missing that window costs real money. For Part B, you’ll pay an extra 10% on your monthly premium for every full 12-month period you were eligible but didn’t enroll. The standard Part B premium is $202.90 in 2026, so a two-year delay adds a 20% surcharge on top. That penalty lasts for as long as you have Part B, which for most people is the rest of their life.10Medicare. Avoid Late Enrollment Penalties
Still Working at 65
If you’re still on the job at 65 and covered by an employer group health plan through your work or your spouse’s, you can delay Part B without penalty. When that coverage ends, you get an eight-month special enrollment period. You’ll need to document your employer-based coverage when you sign up.11Social Security Administration. Sign Up for Part B Only
COBRA doesn’t count as employer group health coverage for this purpose. If you leave your job at 65 and elect COBRA, your special enrollment clock starts when you leave the employer, not when COBRA runs out.
Required Withdrawals From Retirement Accounts at 73
Traditional IRAs and 401(k) plans have their own age milestone: required minimum distributions. You must begin taking a calculated withdrawal each year starting at 73 if you reach that age before 2033. Starting in 2033, the threshold shifts to 75.12Legal Information Institute. 26 US Code 401 – Qualified Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Stock Bonus Plans
Your first RMD must be taken by April 1 of the year after you reach the applicable age. Every distribution after that must be taken by December 31. Delaying your first RMD into the following year means taking two in one calendar year, which can push you into a higher tax bracket.
Missing an RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn. If you correct the shortfall within a correction window that generally runs through the end of the second tax year after the penalty is imposed, the rate drops to 10%.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 US Code 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans
If you’re still working past the RMD age, you can delay withdrawals from your current employer’s 401(k) until the year you actually retire. That exception doesn’t apply if you own 5% or more of the company, and it doesn’t cover IRAs or 401(k) plans left behind at previous employers. Those follow the standard schedule regardless of your employment status.14Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs