If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age for Social Security is 67.
That number has been climbing for years under a 1983 law, and it quietly stopped rising right there — for now.
But "full retirement age" is not the same as "the age you should file," and mixing the two up can cost you thousands.
Full retirement age, or FRA, is the benchmark the government uses to calculate your base benefit.
File before it and your monthly check gets trimmed.
File after it and your check grows, up to age 70.
The gap between the earliest age (62) and the latest useful age (70) can swing your payment by roughly 70% or more depending on your birthday.
Claim at 62 and you're looking at a permanent reduction of about 30%, landing near $1,260 a month.
Wait until 70 and you'd get roughly 124% of that base, close to $2,230.
Over a 20-year retirement, that spread can add up to six figures.
It's one of the few retirement decisions you make once and live with forever.
A mortgage that doesn't care about your birthday.
For plenty of households, waiting simply isn't on the table, and that's a legitimate choice — not a failure.
The trap is filing early by default, without checking what it actually costs you.
A few practical moves before you click "apply" on the SSA website.
First, create a my Social Security account and read your actual earnings record — errors happen, and fixing them takes time.
Second, if you're married, coordinate with your spouse.
The lower earner often files early while the higher earner waits, which protects the survivor benefit.
Third, remember the earnings test: if you claim before FRA and keep working, part of your benefit can be temporarily withheld above an annual earnings limit.
One more thing people miss — the 12-month rule.
You can withdraw an application within a year of filing, but only once in your life, and you must repay what you received.
After that, your only do-over is voluntarily suspending at FRA.
Cost-of-living adjustments get most of the headlines, and yes, they matter for keeping pace with grocery and rent prices.
But the filing-age decision usually moves your lifetime total more than any single COLA.
It's the quieter lever, and it's the one you actually control.
The bottom line: know your FRA, know your reduction or credit, and know why you're picking your date.
Fifteen minutes on the SSA site beats guessing for the next 25 years.
Final Thoughts
Your future self is the only financial advisor who never charges a fee — and never forgets a mistake.