Your Retirement Age and When You Stop Working (En español)
Your retirement age is the age you begin receiving Social Security retirement benefits. For many people, this is not the same age you’ll stop working. The age you stop working can affect the amount of your Social
Security retirement benefits. We base your retirement benefit on your highest 35 years of earnings and the age you start receiving benefits. If you stop work before you start receiving benefits and you have less than 35 years of earnings, your benefit amount is affected. We use a zero for each year without earnings when we calculate the amount of retirement benefits you are due. Years with no earnings reduces
your retirement benefit amount.If You Stop Work Before You Start Receiving Benefits
Even if you have 35 years of earnings when you stopped working, some of those years may be low-earning years. When you file for retirement benefits, those years are averaged into your calculation, creating a lower benefit. However, if you had continued to work, your low earning years are replaced with your high earning years. Higher earnings increase your benefit amount.
If You Stop Work Between Age 62 and Your Full Retirement Age
You can stop working before your full retirement age and receive reduced benefits. The earliest age you can start receiving retirement benefits is age 62. If you file for benefits when you reach full retirement age, you will receive full retirement benefits.
If You Stop Work After Full Retirement Age
If you choose to work beyond your full retirement age, you have two options:
You can work and get full retirement benefits no matter how much you earn.
You can delay getting retirement benefits and earn credits that increase your benefit amount.
Benefit Calculators
How we compute retirement benefits
Early or Delayed Retirement
Spousal benefits
We sometimes call a retired worker the primary beneficiary, because it is upon his/her primary insurance amount that all dependent and survivor benefits are based. If the primary begins to receive benefits at his/her normal (or full) retirement age, the primary will receive 100 percent of the primary insurance amount. If the spouse of a primary begins to receive benefits at his/her normal retirement age, the spouse will receive 50 percent of the primary's primary insurance amount.
The table below illustrates the effect of early retirement, for both a retired worker and his/her spouse. For our illustration, we have used a $1,000 primary insurance amount. With this primary insurance amount and both primary and spouse retiring at their respective normal retirement ages, the primary would receive $1,000 per month and his/her spouse would receive $500 per month. The table shows that retirement at age 62 results in substantial reductions in monthly benefits. Please note that relatively few people can begin receiving a benefit at exact age 62 because a person must be 62 throughout the first month of retirement. Thus most early retirees begin at age 62 and 1 month.
Primary and spousal benefits at age 62(benefits based on a $1,000 primary insurance amount)
1937 or earlier | 65 | 36 | $800 | 20.00% | $375 | 25.00% |
1938 | 65 and 2 months | 38 | 791 | 20.83% | 370 | 25.83% |
1939 | 65 and 4 months | 40 | 783 | 21.67% | 366 | 26.67% |
1940 | 65 and 6 months | 42 | 775 | 22.50% | 362 | 27.50% |
1941 | 65 and 8 months | 44 | 766 | 23.33% | 358 | 28.33% |
1942 | 65 and 10 months | 46 | 758 | 24.17% | 354 | 29.17% |
1943-1954 | 66 | 48 | 750 | 25.00% | 350 | 30.00% |
1955 | 66 and 2 months | 50 | 741 | 25.83% | 345 | 30.83% |
1956 | 66 and 4 months | 52 | 733 | 26.67% | 341 | 31.67% |
1957 | 66 and 6 months | 54 | 725 | 27.50% | 337 | 32.50% |
1958 | 66 and 8 months | 56 | 716 | 28.33% | 333 | 33.33% |
1959 | 66 and 10 months | 58 | 708 | 29.17% | 329 | 34.17% |
1960 and later | 67 | 60 | 700 | 30.00% | 325 | 35.00% |
a If you are born on January 1, use the prior year of birth.
b Applies only if you are born on the 2nd of the month; otherwise the number of reduction months is one less than the number shown.
c Reduction applied to primary insurance amount ($1,000 in this example). The percentage reduction is 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month.
d Reduction applied to $500, which
is 50% of the primary insurance amount in this example. The percentage reduction is 25/36 of 1% per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month.