From 2026, the full retirement age for Social Security will be 67 for those born in 1960 or later. This change, rooted in the Social Security Amendments of 1983, underscores the importance of understanding your retirement timeline.

Learn more about how Social Security's full retirement age has been rising since 1983, maxing out this year at age 67 for those born from 1960 onward.

That's a steep cut, but many seniors will be better of waiting until age 70 to claim their benefits. That's because the guaranteed increase in benefits from waiting from age 62 until age 70 is about 77%. That's on top of the annual COLAs your benefits receive every year after age 62, whether you've started Social Security or not.