What Age Is Retirement Now? How Proposals to Raise Retirement Age Could Change Your Benefits

The question of what age is retirement has become increasingly important as lawmakers debate significant changes to Social Security policy. Currently, if you plan to retire at your full retirement age of 67, you may want to monitor ongoing legislative discussions. The Republican Study Committee and some lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have proposed raising the full retirement age to 69 or even 70, which could substantially reshape retirement planning for millions of Americans.

Current Full Retirement Age and Benefit Calculations

At present, your full retirement age is the point at which you can claim 100% of your Social Security benefits. For those currently in their 50s or 60s, that age remains 67. However, understanding the current benefit structure is essential before considering how changes might affect you.

Here’s how the current system works: If you claim Social Security at 62, you receive 70% of your full retirement benefit. If you wait until your full retirement age—currently 67—you get 100%. Those who delay claiming until age 70 can receive up to 124% of their full benefit amount. This incentive structure rewards those who can afford to wait.

For example, someone expecting $2,000 monthly at full retirement age would receive $1,400 per month if claiming at 62, versus $2,480 monthly if waiting until 70. Over a lifetime, this difference compounds significantly.

How Early Retirement Claiming Would Be Affected

Raising the full retirement age doesn’t necessarily prevent people from claiming at 62. However, it would mean a more substantial reduction in monthly payments. Under current law, waiting three years from early claiming to full retirement age results in a 43% benefit increase. If the full retirement age rose to 70, someone claiming at 62 would face a significantly deeper permanent reduction.

This creates a difficult choice for workers: claim early with severely reduced benefits, or continue working longer than currently planned. For those experiencing health issues or job loss, this could pose considerable financial challenges.

The Long-Term Impact on Your Lifetime Benefits

Regardless of when someone eventually retires, raising the full retirement age reduces the total years benefits are paid out. This directly affects lifetime benefit totals.

Consider this scenario: Someone planning to retire at 67 with $2,000 in monthly benefits would receive $72,000 over three years of payments ($2,000 × 36 months). If they must wait until 70 for full benefits, they lose this three-year window entirely, creating a permanent reduction in lifetime income from Social Security.

Lower-income workers face the greatest challenge with this change. Many in this group work physically demanding jobs and cannot always work longer. Without substantial personal savings, they depend heavily on Social Security, making any reduction more painful. Raising the full retirement age would disproportionately impact those who can least afford it.

Historical Context: When the Retirement Age Last Changed

This wouldn’t be the first time policymakers adjusted when Americans can claim full benefits. In 1983, the full retirement age was gradually increased from 65 to 67, a change that effectively reduced lifetime benefits by 13%. That adjustment took years to fully phase in through gradual increases.

If lawmakers pursue similar changes today, the process might work as the Congressional Budget Office previously suggested: The full retirement age could increase by two months for each birth year among those born between 1964 and 1981. Someone born in 1964 would have an FRA of 67 years and two months. By the time those born in 1981 reach retirement, the full retirement age would be 70.

This gradual approach gives workers time to adjust their retirement planning, though it also means younger workers face the most significant changes to their expected retirement age and benefit calculations.

What Comes Next

As of early 2026, Congress has not implemented age-raising proposals, though the Congressional Budget Office has indicated such changes could help stabilize the Social Security trust fund. What remains clear is that the debate over the full retirement age continues, and understanding current policy and potential changes is crucial for anyone planning their retirement years ahead.