Taking Social Security in 2026? Your full retirement age matters

Are you nearing retirement and considering taking Social Security? There are some key numbers to keep in mind, especially if you want to receive the highest possible monthly check.

Most of us associate retirement with the age of 65. However, Social Security considers the “full retirement age,” during which you receive unreduced benefits, as 66 for those born between 1943 and 1954. Were you born after that? Your full retirement age is a few months higher, as those born in 1960 or later have a full retirement age of 67.

Another date to consider: 62. That’s because you can actually start getting Social Security benefits at that age – you can sign up when you are 61 years and 9 months old, so that your benefits begin to arrive after you turn 62, according to the Social Security Administration’s website. However, your benefit payment will be lower if you wait until your full retirement age.

“For example, if a person is eligible for $1,000 per month at full retirement age, their monthly benefit could shrink to $700 if they retire at 62,” according to personal finance site Nerdwallet.

The longer you wait to claim Social Security, the larger your payment; your highest amount comes if you wait until age 70. For instance, payments for those who wait until age 70 to claim Social Security are 124% of what they would get if they claimed benefits at age 67, notes investment firm Charles Schwab.

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To collect what’s considered full Social Security benefits, you wait until at least your “full retirement age,” which has changed over the years. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed legislation gradually increasing the retirement age as a way to shore up Social Security.

In 2027, the law hits its objective of raising the full retirement age to 67 for those born in 1960 and later. Here’s the full retirement age for those born from 1943 and on; you can also check it on the Social Security Administration website:

• 1943-1954: 66 years old

• 1955: 66 years and two months

• 1956: 66 years and four months

• 1957: 66 years and six months

• 1958: 66 years and eight months

• 1959: 66 years and 10 months

• 1960 and later: 67 years of age

Determining when to retire and apply for Social Security is a personal decision that usually involves many factors. However, the longer you delay taking Social Security, the bigger your monthly check – and, eventually, that of your spouse, too. Taking Social Security before your full retirement age “could reduce your monthly payment by as much as 30%,” according to AARP.In June 2025, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for a 62-year-old retiree was $1,377.03, while the payment for a retiree at age 67 was $1,962.63, according to Nerdwallet.

“Any year that you delay claiming after 62 until you reach 70, increases the monthly benefit that you get,” Gal Wettstein, a senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, previously told USA TODAY.

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For some, it may be worth applying early, as Social Security faces a looming funding shortfall and won’t be able to pay 100% of benefits in the coming years unless some action is taken by Congress to address the shortfall.

The Social Security Administration’s primary trust fund for paying retirement benefits is expected to be depleted as early as 2022, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. That’s even sooner than had been expected, due to the passing of President Donald Trump‘s megabill, which includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade, the centrist group says. There have been discussions of raising taxes and raising the full retirement age to make Social Security more solvent.

Americans of all ages worry about the viability of Social Security, which currently pays benefits to more than 74 million Americans.

The program’s preservation has divided generations, with 53% of Americans under the age of 30 saying they shouldn’t be saddled with higher taxes even if it means lowering benefit checks for beneficiaries, according to a recent survey conducted by the Cato Institute and YouGov. Most of those 65 and older who responded (89%) say current retirees’ benefits should be protected even if it means higher taxes on younger workers.

Social Security “is on an unsustainable trajectory, and substantial reforms will be required if Americans want to avoid roughly 25% benefit cuts in the next decade,” according to the Cato Institute/YouGov report. “Although most people recognize that Social Security faces financial challenges, they underestimate the scale of the shortfall and are unfamiliar with its underlying causes.”

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at  mikegsnider  &  @mikegsnider.bsky.social  &  @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Social Security 2026: Know your full retirement age