Social Security’s Biggest Lie: Why ‘Full Retirement Age’ Isn’t What You Think
Written by
John Csiszar
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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When it comes to collecting Social Security, “full retirement age” is a critical concept. Unfortunately, the term can be a bit misleading.
Without digging under the surface, you might assume that full retirement age (FRA) is the age at which you’re supposed to officially retire and start collecting your Social Security benefits. But in reality, it means one, very specific thing — and it’s important for every beneficiary to understand it.
What ‘Full Retirement Age’ Really Means
From the perspective of the Social Security Administration, “full retirement age” is when you are eligible to receive 100% of your retirement benefit. For those born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67. But this age has changed over time, gradually increasing over the years depending on the year of birth:
- For those born in 1943 to 1954: FRA is 66
- 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
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Does This Mean You Have To Wait Until 66 or 67 To Claim Benefits?
This is where part of the confusion over full retirement age kicks in. If you want to access your Social Security benefits sooner, you don’t have to wait until you reach FRA. In fact, the SSA allows you to file for benefits as early as age 62.
For most beneficiaries, that’s a full five years before FRA, or 60 additional payments. The downside is that your benefit amount is reduced by as much as 30% — and reduction is permanent. So, if you’re expecting a monthly retirement benefit of $2,006.69, which was the average amount paid out as of July 2025, you might get as little as $1,404.68 if you filed at age 62.
Is Full Retirement Age When I Receive My Largest Benefit?
This is a common misconception, and it’s totally understandable why you might think this to be the case. The very term “full retirement age” seems to imply that it’s the age when you get your largest benefit. After all, how much more can you get than 100% of your benefit, right?
In reality, that’s not the case. If you choose not to file at FRA, your benefit will actually keep growing while you wait — at least for the next three years. If your FRA is 67 and you wait to file until age 70, for example, you’ll end up with a benefit that’s 24% higher than your “full retirement benefit.”
This is because the SSA grants delayed retirement credits of 8% per year that you wait to file between ages 67 and 70. Best of all, this boost to your monthly payments is permanent, and it will last for the rest of your life.
Imagine once again that your full retirement benefit is the national average of $2,006.69. If you wait until age 70 to file, your benefit will jump to roughly $2,488. That means you’d receive more than $1,000 extra every month over what you would receive by filing at age 62, or nearly $500 more per month.
Why Is Social Security Designed This Way?
At first glance, it might seem like Social Security is more complicated than it needs to be. It would certainly be easier if the only choice available was to file for 100% of your benefits at your full retirement age. But the idea behind being able to file between ages 62 and 70 is to provide maximum flexibility to beneficiaries. If you file early, you’ll get more checks, but the monthly amount will be smaller. If you choose to wait, you’ll receive fewer checks, but they’ll be larger.
Ultimately, these variations are meant to even themselves out. Actuarially speaking, it doesn’t matter whether you file at 62, 67, 70, or any age in between. The total amount of money you’re expected to get throughout your lifetime is meant to be the same.
Of course, there’s no way of knowing exactly how long any individual Social Security beneficiary will live. But in the aggregate, people should receive roughly the same amount over their lifetimes whether they file early or late.
The Age-Old Question: When Should You File for Social Security Benefits?
Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to this question. On average, it shouldn’t really matter when you claim your benefits, because actuarially speaking, you should end up with the same amount throughout your lifetime. But this is yet another area in which “averages” can get you into trouble.
If you’re in poor health and/or have no other source of income at age 62, you’ll likely be much better off filing at age 62. But if you’ve got a well-stocked retirement account and history of longevity in your family, waiting until age 70 might be the answer.
At the end of the day, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to figuring out when you should file for Social Security benefits. This is why consulting with a financial advisor is usually a good idea.
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