Social Security's so-called "full retirement age" — the age when people can start collecting all of their earned benefits — is about to hit a new threshold, a change that will affect Americans born in 1960 or later.

The full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security is calculated using a worker's birth year, while their monthly benefits are based on the number of years they've worked and their income over that period. People may claim Social Security as early as age 62, but doing so permanently reduces their monthly benefit by about 30% compared with waiting until hitting their FRA.

Starting in 2026, Social Security's full retirement age is set to make its final scheduled increase, marking the last step-up in age enacted under a 1983 congressional reform designed to shore up the progr

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