Retirement

2017 Brings New Changes to Full Retirement Age

January 6, 2017 • By

Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Last Updated: August 19, 2021

3 elderly people siting on a stoopEvery worker’s dream is to enjoy a secure retirement. Social Security is here to secure today and tomorrow. Part of that commitment is ensuring you have the most up-to-date information when you make your retirement decisions.

As the bells ring in the New Year, they also bring changes for new Social Security retirement beneficiaries. Full retirement age is 66 and two months for people born 01/02/1955 through 01/01/1956.  They are eligible to receive permanently reduced retirement benefits when they turn 62 in 2017.

Full retirement age is the age at which a person first becomes entitled to full (unreduced) retirement benefits.  It had been 65 for many years.  However, beginning with people born in 1938 that age has been gradually increasing until it reaches 67 for people born in 1960 and later.

As the full retirement age continues to increase, there are greater reductions in benefits if you claim them before you reach full retirement age.  For example, if you apply for benefits in 2017 at age 62, your monthly benefit amount will be reduced nearly 26 percent.

You can find your full retirement age, along with other important information, on our website.

Some things you must remember when you’re thinking about retirement:

  1. You may start receiving Social Security benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. The longer you wait, the higher your monthly benefit will be.
  2. Your monthly benefits are reduced permanently if you start them any time before full retirement age.
  3. If you die, your retirement date can affect the payment to your surviving widow or widower.  If you started receiving retirement benefits before full retirement age, we cannot pay your surviving spouse their full retirement age benefit amount.  We base their benefit on the amount of your reduced benefits.
  4. If you elect to receive benefits before you reach full retirement age, you should understand how continuing to work  affects your benefits.

You can learn more by reading our publication, When to Start Receiving Benefits or visiting our Retirement Planner.

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About the Author

Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications

Jim Borland, Assistant Deputy Commissioner, Communications

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Comments

  1. Paul E.

    Over and over I have read questions regarding “disability”. Nowhere, has anyone specified which type(s) of disability. SS Disability only? VA Disability? Either/or? Both? Can an individual who has contributed to SSI for an entire lifetime, receive both VA service connected compensation (disability) and reduced SS retirement benefits? Even the questions on the SS Application for Retirement benefits don’t specify the policy.

    • R.F.

      Hi Paul. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) each have disability programs, and it is possible to receive disability benefits from both programs. Generally, we do not reduce your Social Security benefits because of your military benefits. To see if your VA disability benefits can be affected, please contact your local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Thanks!

      • Paul E.

        Thanks, Mr. Fernandez. My question, however, is in regard to regular SS retirement benefits (reduced rate i.e. early) and service connected disability compensation.

        • R.F.

          Hi Paul. Generally, you can get both Social Security benefits and your military retirement or disability benefits. You’ll get your full Social Security benefit based on your earnings. However, we recommend that you contact your local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office, to check and see, if the military (disability) benefits you receive, can be affected when you collect your Social Security benefits.

  2. Debbie R.

    When I retire at 66 with full benefits I will take my SS because my husband is still alive? Correct.
    He has to have passed before i could get half of his which is higher than mine. The other question is. If he does die, could I then change and get half of his benefits.

    • R.F.

      Hi Debbie. Your benefit as a spouse can –only- be equal to one-half of your husband’s full retirement amount, if you start receiving those benefits at your full retirement age. To qualify for spouse’s benefits, your husband must be receiving retirement or disability benefits. When you qualify for Social Security benefits on your own record, we pay that amount first. But if you also qualify for a higher amount as a spouse later on, you’ll get a combination of benefits that equals that higher amount. In the other hand, Survivors Benefits are paid at a higher rate. Please see “Benefits For You As A Spouse” and our Survivors Planner for more information.

  3. Barbara D.

    I will be 62 years old in October. If I choose to collect then with the lower rate, will I receive it or an even more reduced rate because I am married and my husband collects his own social security? I thought I saw something on the 2017 new laws about this changing….

    • A.C.

      Hi, Barbara, if a person starts receiving retirement benefits at age 62 or any time prior to their full retirement age, their benefit amount is reduced. The reduction factors are permanently applied to all of the benefits the person may qualify for. Your may still be eligible to collect reduced benefits on your husband’s record. Remember, if someone is eligible for both, his or her own benefit and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay their own first. If their spousal benefits are higher than their own retirement benefits, he or she will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit. To learn more about spouse’s benefits, visit our Frequently Asked Questions web page. If you have specific questions, please call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and speak with one of our representatives. We hope this information helps!

  4. Rosemary

    I am a working Social Security Beneficiary, I am 68 years old. I am divorced claiming my own Social Security Benefit. I read on MSN news where a working senior collecting benefits at full retirement age starting year 2017 that social security (FICA) would not be taken from their payroll check and the company they work for would not be subject to the match of the FICA. Is this true and what publication is this? Thank you.

  5. Ted H.

    Will I still be allowed to retire early at age 62 in August of 2018?

    • R.F.

      Yes Ted, the earliest age you can apply for reduced retirement benefits continues to be age 62. What’s changing is the Full Retirement Age (FRA) for people born 01/02/1955 through 01/01/1956. These people attain their FRA at 66 and two months. To find out what your full retirement age is, visit our “Retirement Planner: Benefits By Year Of Birth” web page.

  6. evelyn

    Hello, my husband is currently receiving SSDI since january 2015 he was 55 years old when he first receive the SSDI ($1842/mo). I will be 62 years old this august 2017 and would like to apply for an early retirement. My social security online record showed $1980 at full retirement age which will be 66 and 2 months. I calculated the reduction of SS to age 62 and that will be around $1400/mo. My question is… am I going to receive this amount on top of my husband $1842 per month or my husband dissability check will be reduce? Please clarify this for me. Thanks you.

  7. Melva

    I was born in 1937 and I am 79. I retired at 65. My monthly SSI was $1423. Last month (Jan 2017) there was a $5 increase to $1428. This month (Feb 2017) my SSI was reduced to $1054.20. Why was it reduced?

    • R.F.

      Hi Melva. For security reasons, we do not have access to personal records via this blog. Please call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213, representatives are available Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later in the day or later in the week. Thanks.

  8. Rob O.

    I’m 64 years old and started drawing SS at 62.
    I’ve kept working and now as I file my Federal Income Taxes for 2016 I see I have made $457.00 over the allowance. I made $16,177.00 in 2016. .
    What is going to happen?
    Will my monthly SS check be lowered permanently or just until I pay back 1/2 of $457.00 ?
    Thanks

    • R.F.

      You’re right Rob, for 2016 the earnings limit for beneficiaries under full retirement age was $15,720. We deduct $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. We do this automatically when the earnings are posted to your earnings record. We will send you a notice, letting you know that you were overpaid and that we will withheld from the current year benefits in order to recoup any “incorrect payments” that were made. See our “Retirement Planner: How We Deduct Earnings from Benefits” for more information. You can call our toll free number at 1-800-772-1213 for further assistance. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thanks.

  9. Fei-lan

    I am 65 years old and retired last year. My FRA is 66. My husband is 71 years old and started to receive SS benefits with delayed retirement credits at 70 years old. Will I be able to receive the full survival benefits as the amount that my husband is receiving now (with delayed retirement credits) if I apply for the benefits now based on my own work before my FRA which is next year?

  10. Queenie

    Articles like this really grease the shafts of kngldewoe.

Comments are closed.