"Part of the challenge for retirees is that the rules change over time. While there are many different modifications that happen automatically to Social Security benefits each year, one of the biggest changes that has been occurring in recent years is that the full retirement age (FRA) for claiming benefits is moving later. This is happening again in 2026, and it has major implications for those who have not yet retired and who are making decisions about their benefits."
"The first thing to know is that the full retirement age for claiming Social Security is moving later in 2026. Full retirement age is when your standard benefit can be claimed, unreduced by early filing penalties. That standard benefit is called your primary insurance amount, and it's based on the average inflation-adjusted wages you earned during the 35 highest-paid years of your career."
Social Security's full retirement age (FRA) will increase in 2026, moving to 67 for people born in 1960 or later. FRA determines when the primary insurance amount — the standard, unreduced monthly benefit based on the 35 highest inflation-adjusted wage years — can be claimed without penalties. For those turning 66 this year the FRA is 66 and 10 months; for those turning 66 next year or later, FRA will be 67. The change is the final phase of 1980s reforms that raised FRA from 65 to 67 to help stabilize Social Security finances, and it affects claiming decisions and monthly benefit amounts.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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