Neither 65 nor 67 – This is the Exact Full Retirement Age For Social Security in July 2025

For tens of millions of Americans who are counting on Social Security for a majority of their retirement income; they should understand the meaning of Full Retirement Age (FRA). The notion that you retire at age 65 is an artifact of the past when most people actually did so. The Social Security Administration updates its instructions to specify that 65 or 67 doesn’t apply across the board until July 2025.

Instead, full retirement age is now a sliding target exactly when it arrives depends on when a person was born, and for many, it falls somewhere in the middle of 66. When you take them is one of the biggest factors in how much monthly income you receive for the rest of your life.

If you contributed to a 401(k) at a big employer after a certain date, retire too early and you can lose hundreds of dollars a month for the rest of your life; keep working and you can add hundreds of dollars a month to your monthly benefit.

Neither 65 nor 67

The full retirement age is 66 years and 10 months for those born in July 2025, at least for anyone born in the United States in 1959. For anyone born in 1960 or after, it is 67. This is merely a dot in a 40-year evolution of our retirement policy. They all had, once upon a time, a standard retirement age of 65.

But as people lived longer and money pressures emerged, the government made changes in the 1980s to raise the FRA by a few ticks upward. Those adjustments are now in full effect. The Social Security Administration uses this information to calculate the amount of your benefit.

Neither 65 nor 67 Overview

Department	Social Security Administration (SSA)
Article On	Neither 65 nor 67
Country	USA
Eligibility	Must have a valid SSN number
Amount	As per eligibility
Payment Schedule	Monthly
Payment Mode	Direct Deposits and Paper Checks
Category	Government Aid
Official Website	Ssa.gov

Eligibility for Social Security Benefits

• Be a U.S. citizen or a legal resident
• SSN valid for work force the plyer
• Have been born in 1959 or earlier, in order to reach FRA in 2025
• 40 or more credits (about 10 years of covered work)
• Not be currently receiving early retirement or disability benefits
• Reach the exact full retirement age year of birth reached the Year of Birth Full Retirement Age so the FRA is the exact year.
• Officially apply with the SSA (Social Security Administration)
• Not be ineligible by law or because of any infirmity of character due to conviction of a crime or any other reason as set forth in the LMPD’s selection process
• Comply with all of SSA’s rules and evidence requirements.

Understanding the reason behind the retirement age change

One of the reasons that so many people still believe that retirement is supposed to be 65, is that for decades it was. The government in the past chose age 65 because, let’s face it, life expectancy was so much shorter, and retirement wasn’t considered a prolonged interlude in an older person’s life.

The SSA, to bridge this gap, began incorporating future changes in retirement age. Are being phased in, starting with those born in 1938 forward and going through people born in 1960 and after.

Retirement Age Earnings Increased Amount by Year of Birth Full Benefit, No-Reduction Detailed Calculator Estimate Your Retirement Benefits Summary of Detailed Calculator Estimate of Your Retirement Benefits Age 62 Spouse’s Benefit as a Percentage of Worker’s Full Retirement Benefit Amounts for a Surviving Spouse.

Effects of Social Security Payments

When to retire is a personal choice, but it can also be a financial calculation. If you begin receiving benefits before your full retirement age (as early as 62), your benefit will be reduced.

That reduction is a permanent one and you will not make up all of the difference, even if you wait until later to reach your full retirement age. Alternatively, if you delay benefits until after full retirement age, you can collect what the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls delayed retirement credits.

That’s someone who has a $2,000-a-month full benefit at 67, and for whom the payment, if deferred to age 70, would be $2,480 a month. That’s a pretty wide spread over the years and that can be very useful for financial stability in the later years.

Retirement Age Schedule

Birth Year	Retirement Age
1955	66 Years
1956	66 Years
1957	66 Years
1958	66 Years
1959	66 Years
1960 or later	67 Years

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