Where can I find an exact chart for Full Retirement Age (FRA) by birth year and month?

Yes, there's a clear chart on the SSA website! Here's the breakdown: - Born 1937 or earlier: FRA is 65 - Born 1938: 65 and 2 months - Born 1939: 65 and 4 months - Born 1940: 65 and 6 months - Born 1941: 65 and 8 months - Born 1942: 65 and 10 months - Born 1943-1954: 66 - Born 1955: 66 and 2 months - Born 1956: 66 and 4 months - Born 1957: 66 and 6 months - Born 1958: 66 and 8 months - Born 1959: 66 and 10 months - Born 1960 or later: 67 So for you (born 1960), your FRA is 67. For your wife (born 1958), it's 66 and 8 months. This determines when you qualify for 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA).

The SSA website is TERRIBLE to navigate!!! I spent 3 hours last week trying to find this exact information and kept going in circles. The government makes everything so complicated on purpose I swear. I was born in 1957 and apparently mine is 66 and 6 months which is such a random number. Why not just make it 66 and a half? Or just 66? The whole system is designed to confuse us!!

My sister just went through this whole FRA thing last year. She was born in 1956 so her FRA was 66 and 4 months. She waited until exactly that age to claim and got her full benefit. Smart move I think. I'm turning 62 next month and thinking about taking early benefits even though I know they'll be reduced. Has anyone here taken benefits early? Was it worth it?

If you want to see this info directly from SSA, here's where to look: 1. Go to ssa.gov 2. In the search bar type "full retirement age chart" 3. Click on the first result that says "Retirement Age Calculator" I got so frustrated trying to reach someone at Social Security to ask about my FRA (I was born in 1958 like your wife). After being on hold for 2+ hours multiple days, I used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to a real agent in under 20 minutes. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed my FRA is 66 and 8 months and explained exactly how my benefit amount would be affected if I claimed earlier or later. Worth the time saved instead of waiting on hold all day!

theres actually a calculator on SSA website where u just put in ur birth date and it tells u exact FRA and even shows how much u get at diff ages. my wife and me both used it last month, super helpful

Here's something important to understand about your FRA that many people miss: Your FRA determines three key things: 1. When you're eligible for 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) 2. When the earnings test no longer applies (you can earn unlimited income without benefit reductions) 3. The baseline for calculating reduced benefits (if claiming early) or delayed retirement credits (if claiming after FRA) For your specific birth years: - You (1960): FRA is 67, can claim as early as 62 with a 30% reduction - Your wife (1958): FRA is 66 and 8 months, can claim as early as 62 with a ~27.5% reduction If either of you delay beyond your FRA, you'll earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year until age 70. Also, the FRA chart is written into law and would require Congressional action to change. While always possible, there are currently no serious proposals to change the FRA for people near retirement age.

I was so confused about this too when I was approaching retirement! The reduction for early filing is 5/9 of 1% for each month before FRA (up to 36 months) and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month. It's these weird fractions that result in those specific percentages like 27.5% at age 62. I made the mistake of claiming at 62 because I needed the money, and now at 68 I really regret it. I'm getting about $625 less per month than if I'd waited until my FRA. That's over $7,500 a year I'm missing out on for the rest of my life! If you can wait, it's usually better financially in the long run.

My birthday is August 15, 1959 so my FRA is 66 and 10 months. I think that means I reach FRA on June 15, 2026. Is that right? Or is it July 15? The months always confuse me.

Thank you all for the helpful information! I've been looking at the SSA retirement calculator and I think I understand our FRA situation better now. One last question - does anyone know if the spousal benefit is also affected by FRA? My wife worked part-time for many years while raising our kids, so her benefit will be much smaller than mine.

This is such valuable information everyone! As someone who's been dreading navigating all this retirement stuff, this thread has been a lifesaver. I had no idea about the spousal benefit rules or how the timing works between spouses. My situation is probably pretty common - I'm the higher earner and my spouse worked part-time. It sounds like we need to think strategically about when each of us claims rather than just both filing at our FRAs. Are there any good resources for running different claiming scenarios to see what makes the most financial sense for couples in our situation?

This has been such an informative thread! I'm in a similar boat - born in 1961 so my FRA is 67, and my husband was born in 1959 (FRA 66 and 10 months). What's really helpful is seeing how the math works out for the reductions and increases. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from my financial planner: if you're still working when you reach FRA, make sure you understand the earnings test. Before your FRA, if you earn too much, they temporarily reduce your benefits. But once you hit your FRA, you can earn unlimited income without any benefit reduction, AND they recalculate to give you credit for any benefits that were withheld due to earnings. Also, don't forget that your highest 35 years of earnings are used to calculate your benefit. If you're still working and earning more than you did in earlier years, those higher earnings can actually increase your future benefit amount even after you've already started collecting! The system is definitely complex, but threads like this really help break it down into understandable pieces. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences!