When to apply for social security at full retirement age

If you set benefits to begin at full retirement age (FRA) — 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956 and gradually rising to 67 over the next few years — your first payment generally will arrive in the month after you attain that age. That’s because Social Security pays benefits a month behind, so your benefit for, say, June 2022 will arrive in July.

Índice Show

Delayed Retirement Credits (En español)
Increase for Delayed Retirement
Additional Information
If you were born between 1956 your full retirement age is 66 and 4 months (En español)
How Your Social Security Benefit Is Reduced

Your birthday generally determines your monthly payment schedule:

If the birthday is between the first and the 10th day of the month, the benefit payment arrives on the second Wednesday of each month.
If the birthday is between the 11th and the 20th, the payment comes on the third Wednesday of the month.
If the birthday is between the 21st and the end of the month, the payment arrives on the fourth Wednesday of the month.

So, if you reach full retirement age on June 15 and start benefits then, you’ll get your first Social Security payment on the third Wednesday of July.

There's an exception if you were born on the first day of the month. In this case, Social Security considers you to have attained full retirement age on the last day of the month preceding the milestone date. For example, if you were born July 1, 1956, you attain full retirement age on June 30, 2022, and you would receive your first payment in July 2022.

Keep in mind

Benefit applications can take up to three months to process, so apply three months before your planned start date.
If you are drawing spousal or survivor benefits on another person’s earnings record, your payment date depends on that person’s birthday and follows the schedule above.

Delayed Retirement Credits (En español)

Social Security retirement benefits are increased by a certain percentage for each month you delay starting your benefits beyond full retirement age.

The benefit increase stops when you reach age 70.

Increase for Delayed Retirement

Year of Birth*	12-Month Rate of Increase	Monthly Rate of Increase
1933-1934	5.5%	11/24 of 1%
1935-1936	6.0%	1/2 of 1%
1937-1938	6.5%	13/24 of 1%
1939-1940	7.0%	7/12 of 1%
1941-1942	7.5%	5/8 of 1%
1943 or later	8.0%	2/3 of 1%

If you've already reached full retirement age, you can choose to start receiving benefits before the month you apply. However, we cannot pay retroactive benefits for any month before you reached full retirement age or more than six months in the past.

If you decide to delay your retirement, be sure to sign up for just Medicare at age 65.

If you do not sign up at age 65, in some circumstances your Medicare coverage may be delayed and cost more.

If you retire before age 70, some of your delayed retirement credits will not be applied until the January after you start receiving benefits.

For example, if you reach your full retirement age (67) in June, you may plan to wait until your 69th birthday to start your retirement benefits. Your initial benefit amount will reflect delayed retirement credits earned from your full retirement age through the year before your 69th birthday. In January of the following calendar year, your benefit will increase for the credits earned in the year of your 69th birthday. Our Online Calculator gives you an estimate with all credits applied for comparison purposes.

Additional Information

Choosing when to begin your retirement benefits is an important and personal decision. No matter your age, be sure to explore our website to learn your choices and make the best decision. Sometimes, the month you choose to start benefits could mean higher benefit payments for you and your family. Here's some additional information that may help you decide what's right for you:

Early or Late Retirement?
Retirement Information for Medicare Beneficiaries
Other Things To Consider

If you were born between 1956 your full retirement age is 66 and 4 months (En español)

You can start your Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but the benefit amount you receive will be less than your full retirement benefit amount.

The chart below provides examples of the percentage of your full retirement benefit amount you and your spouse would receive from age 62 up to your full retirement age.

If you start getting benefits at age *	And you are the: Wage Earner, the benefit amount you will receive is reduced to	And you are the: Spouse, the benefit amount you will receive is reduced to
62	73.3%	34.2%
62 + 1 month	73.8	34.4
62 + 2 months	74.2	34.6
62 + 3 months	74.6	34.8
62 + 4 months	75.0	35.0
62 + 5 months	75.4	35.2
62 + 6 months	75.8	35.4
62 + 7 months	76.3	35.6
62 + 8 months	76.7	35.8
62 + 9 months	77.1	36.0
62 + 10 months	77.5	36.3
62 + 11 months	77.9	36.5
63	78.3	36.7
63 + 1 month	78.8	36.9
63 + 2 months	79.2	37.1
63 + 3 months	79.6	37.3
63 + 4 months	80.0	37.5
63 + 5 months	80.6	37.8
63 + 6 months	81.1	38.2
63 + 7 months	81.7	38.5
63 + 8 months	82.2	38.9
63 + 9 months	82.8	39.2
63 + 10 months	83.3	39.6
63 + 11 months	83.9	39.9
64	84.4	40.3
64 + 1 month	85.0	40.6
64 + 2 months	85.6	41.0
64 + 3 months	86.1	41.3
64 + 4 months	86.7	41.7
64 + 5 months	87.2	42.0
64 + 6 months	87.8	42.4
64 + 7 months	88.3	42.7
64 + 8 months	88.9	43.1
64 + 9 months	89.4	43.4
64 + 10 months	90.0	43.8
64 + 11 months	90.6	44.1
65	91.1	44.4
65 + 1 month	91.7	44.8
65 + 2 months	92.2	45.1
65 + 3 months	92.8	45.5
65 + 4 months	93.3	45.8
65 + 5 months	93.9	46.2
65 + 6 months	94.4	46.5
65 + 7 months	95.0	46.9
65 + 8 months	95.6	47.2
65 + 9 months	96.1	47.6
65 + 10 months	96.7	47.9
65 + 11 months	97.2	48.3
66	97.8	48.6
66 + 1 month	98.3	49.0
66 + 2 months	98.9	49.3
66 + 3 months	99.4	49.7
66 + 4 months	100.0	50.0
* If your birthday is on the 1st of the month, we figure your benefit as if your birthday were in the previous month.