Understanding the full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security is extremely important so you can make informed choices about your benefits. This can be more complicated than you’d think because FRA has been changing over time.
In 2026, it will be changing again. Anyone who is turning 66 next year or in any future year needs to be aware of the changes so they understand what their benefits will be and how their decision about what age to claim affects their monthly and lifetime income.
Here is the change that is coming to Social Security’s FRA in 2026, along with some details on why it is so important to be aware of the new rules going into effect next year.
Why is full retirement age important?
Social Security’s full retirement age is the age when you can claim your primary insurance amount, or standard Social Security benefit.
Everyone’s standard benefit is based on their wages during their career. Your standard benefit is called your primary insurance amount (PIA), and it is calculated by calculating average wages during your 35 highest earning years and providing benefits equal to a percentage of that amount.
Your exact PIA is available to you only if you claim at full retirement age. This is why it is so important to know when FRA is. If you do not claim exactly at your full retirement age, your benefit will either increase or decrease depending on what age you do claim. Benefits decrease if you claim even a single month early, and benefits increase if you claim even a single month after your FRA.
The increase or reduction is permanent. If you claim ahead of FRA, you never catch up to the amount you would have had if you’d waited. If you claim after FRA, you will always have a larger monthly benefit than if you had claimed early.
Since your choice to claim at FRA, before, or after affects your monthly income for the rest of your life, you need to know exactly when your full retirement age is.
Social Security’s full retirement age is changing in 2026
For many years, it was easy to know when FRA is because every retiree became entitled to their full benefit as soon as they turned 65. But, FRA was pushed back in Social Security reforms in the 1980s, with many people being assigned a later full retirement age. This was done to save Social Security money because its finances were in trouble. By changing the FRA, people either had to claim early (giving up benefits due to early filing penalties) or had to wait to claim (also giving up benefits because of months or years of missed income).
The changes to FRA were phased in slowly, so full retirement age has been changing over time and will change again in 2026. The schedule for these changes was made available when the reforms were passed in the 1980s, but many people don’t really know Social Security’s rules very well, so they may not be aware of the schedule or its impact on their benefits.
Specifically, anyone who has not turned 66 before 2026 rolls around will face a later full retirement age than their older peers. For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is going to be 67. This is the oldest it has ever been. Previously, retirees had an FRA between 65 and 66 and 10 months, depending on when they were born. So, those turning 66 next year or beyond will have to wait longer than ever or will have to accept a benefits reduction.
You should consider the implications of this change and think carefully about whether you want to wait until 67 to claim benefits so you don’t shrink your checks. Opportunities to earn delayed retirement credits are also not as prevalent as in the past, since you’ll now be able to earn a maximum of three years of delayed retirement credits, since you don’t see any additional benefits increase after age 70. While those with an FRA of 65 could earn five years of credits and those with an FRA of 66 could earn four years of credits, you’ll now be limited to earning a maximum of three years’ worth.
Because it can be complicated to determine the best claiming age, and many factors affect your optimum choice, including your health and marital status, you may want to think seriously about talking with a financial advisor before deciding when to start your Social Security checks relative to your full retirement age. This is especially true if you are affected by this change happening in 2026 and will now have to wait until 67 to get an unreduced benefit payment to live on during your later years.
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