Will Social Security’s Full Retirement Age Be Changing in 2026?

By Maurie Backman Published Nov 6, 6:51AM EST

Quick Read

Social Security benefits can be claimed as early as age 62.
Waiting until full retirement age means avoiding a reduction in benefits.
It’s important to take note of Social Security’s full retirement age for workers born in 1960 or later.

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Will Social Security’s Full Retirement Age Be Changing in 2026? — © J. Frederick / Shutterstock.com

The decision to claim Social Security is one of the most important financial choices you’ll ever make. The reason is that your filing age will help determine how much money you get in your monthly benefits.

Social Security can be claimed beginning at age 62. However, if you don’t want to see your monthly benefits reduced, you’ll need to wait until full retirement age (FRA) to sign up.

FRA is dependent on your year of birth. And if you’re gearing up to claim Social Security in 2026, it’s important to know what your FRA looks like.

What’s happening to Social Security’s FRA in 2026?

Technically, Social Security’s FRA isn’t changing in 2026. FRA has long been 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954.

For people born after 1954, FRA has been gradually increasing as follows:

66 and 2 months for those born in 1955
66 and 4 months for those born in 1956
66 and 6 months for those born in 1957
66 and 8 months for those born in 1958
66 and 10 months for those born in 1959

Similarly, FRA has long been set at 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. What this means, however, is that if you’re turning 66 in 2026, you will not have reached FRA. If you claim Social Security next year and you aren’t yet 67, you’ll face a permanent reduction in your monthly benefits.

You may be under the impression that anyone turning 66 can claim Social Security benefits in full. However, that rule only applies to people who were born at a certain time.

Should you wait until FRA to claim Social Security?

Clearly, you do not have to wait until FRA to sign up to start getting Social Security. Whether you should sit tight until that point or not, however, depends on you.

You may want to consider waiting until FRA to claim Social Security if:

You do not have a lot of retirement savings
You’re worried about inflation and rising costs
You think you’ll live at least an average lifespan

However, you may want to claim Social Security early if:

You have a lot of money saved for retirement and expect your benefits to serve as extra money
You have health issues that may shorten your lifespan
You have an immediate need for money and Social Security is your only option other than costly debt

Remember, too, that you also have the option of delaying Social Security past FRA for larger monthly checks. For each year you hold off, until you turn 70, your monthly benefits grow 8%.

That’s a big deal, because the more money you get from Social Security each month, the less pressure it puts on your savings. Plus, Social Security benefits are eligible for yearly cost-of-living adjustments. The higher your monthly checks are to begin with, the more generous those adjustments become.

Either way, you can’t make an informed Social Security filing decision without knowing your FRA. Be mindful of the fact that if you were born any year after 1959, you need to wait until 67 to collect your benefits in full.

About the Author Maurie Backman →

Maurie Backman has more than a decade of experience writing about financial topics, including retirement, investing, Social Security, and real estate. Her work has appeared on sites that include The Motley Fool, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and CNN Underscored.