"Social Security's full retirement age is the age when you can claim your primary insurance amount, or standard Social Security benefit. Everyone's standard benefit is based on their wages during their career. Your standard benefit is called your primary insurance amount (PIA), and it is calculated by calculating average wages during your 35 highest earning years and providing benefits equal to a percentage of that amount."
"The increase or reduction is permanent. If you claim ahead of FRA, you never catch up to the amount you would have had if you'd waited. If you claim after FRA, you will always have a larger monthly benefit than if you had claimed early. Since your choice to claim at FRA, before, or after affects your monthly income for the rest of your life, you need to know exactly when your full retirement age is."
Full retirement age (FRA) determines eligibility for the primary insurance amount (PIA), the standard Social Security benefit. PIA is calculated from average wages across the 35 highest-earning years and is available only at FRA. Claiming before FRA reduces the monthly benefit permanently, while claiming after FRA increases it permanently. Even a single month of earlier or later claiming changes the benefit. The FRA change in 2026 will affect anyone turning 66 in 2026 or later. Knowing the exact FRA is essential because the claiming-age decision affects monthly and lifetime income.
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