Normal Retirement Age (NRA): What It Means for Your Benefits
Published: 1/17/2026
Key Takeaways
- Normal Retirement Age (NRA) is the age at which you receive your full Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) with no reduction or increase
- NRA ranges from 65 to 67 depending on your birth year
- Filing before NRA permanently reduces your benefit
- Filing after NRA increases your benefit through delayed retirement credits, up to age 70
- The Social Security Administration uses both "Normal Retirement Age" and "Full Retirement Age" interchangeably
What Is Normal Retirement Age?
Normal Retirement Age (NRA), also called Full Retirement Age (FRA), is the age at which you're entitled to receive 100% of your calculated Social Security benefit, known as your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA).
The Social Security Administration officially uses both terms. "Full Retirement Age" appears more frequently in public-facing materials, while "Normal Retirement Age" is common in technical documents and benefit calculations. This site primarily uses NRA because "full" can be misleading: you can actually receive more than your "full" benefit by delaying past NRA up to age 70.
The term "Full Retirement Age" suggests you receive your maximum benefit at that age. In reality, delaying benefits until age 70 results in a benefit that's 24–32% higher than your NRA benefit (depending on your birth year). NRA is simply the reference point: the age where there's no reduction for early filing and no increase for delayed filing.
NRA by Birth Year
Your Normal Retirement Age depends entirely on when you were born. Congress gradually increased NRA from 65 to 67 through legislation passed in 1983, affecting those born in 1938 and later.
| Year of Birth | Normal Retirement Age | Delayed Credit per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 or earlier | 65 | 6.5% |
| 1938 | 65 and 2 months | 6.5% |
| 1939 | 65 and 4 months | 7.0% |
| 1940 | 65 and 6 months | 7.0% |
| 1941 | 65 and 8 months | 7.5% |
| 1942 | 65 and 10 months | 7.5% |
| 1943–1954 | 66 | 8.0% |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months | 8.0% |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months | 8.0% |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months | 8.0% |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months | 8.0% |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months | 8.0% |
| 1960 or later | 67 | 8.0% |
For those born in 1960 or later, NRA is 67. This has been stable since 1983 and there are no currently scheduled changes, though future legislation could adjust this.
Filing Before Normal Retirement Age
You can file for Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but doing so permanently reduces your monthly benefit. The reduction is calculated based on how many months early you file:
Early Filing Reduction Formula
- First 36 months early: Benefit reduced by 5/9 of 1% per month (6.67% per year)
- Additional months beyond 36: Benefit reduced by 5/12 of 1% per month (5% per year)
Example: Filing at 62 with NRA of 67
If your NRA is 67 and you file at exactly 62, you're filing 60 months early:
| First 36 months: 36 × (5/9 of 1%) | = 20.0% reduction |
| Next 24 months: 24 × (5/12 of 1%) | = 10.0% reduction |
| Total reduction: | 30.0% |
If your PIA is $2,000, filing at 62 gives you $1,400/month permanently.
This reduction is permanent. Your benefit will still receive annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), but the base amount remains reduced for life.
Filing After Normal Retirement Age
If you delay filing past your NRA, you earn delayed retirement credits that increase your benefit. These credits accrue monthly until age 70, after which there's no additional benefit to waiting.
Delayed Retirement Credits
For those born in 1943 or later, the credit is 8% per year (2/3 of 1% per month) for each year you delay past NRA, up to age 70.
Example: Delaying to 70 with NRA of 67
| Delay of 3 years (36 months): 36 × (2/3 of 1%) | = 24% increase |
| Benefit at 70: | 124% of PIA |
If your PIA is $2,000, delaying to 70 gives you $2,480/month.
Why NRA Matters Beyond Personal Benefits
Your NRA affects more than just your own retirement benefit:
Spousal Benefits
Spousal benefits are also reduced if filed before your NRA. However, unlike personal benefits, spousal benefits do not increase if you delay past NRA. There are no delayed credits for spousal benefits. The same rules apply to divorced spouse benefits.
Survivor Benefits
Survivor benefits have a different NRA schedule (typically 2 years earlier than retirement NRA for the same birth year). Survivor benefits can be filed as early as age 60 (or 50 if disabled), with corresponding reductions. Unlike your own benefit, survivor benefits do not increase past survivor NRA.
The Earnings Test
If you work while receiving benefits before NRA, your benefits may be temporarily reduced due to the earnings test. In 2026, if you earn more than $24,480 while receiving benefits before NRA, $1 is withheld for every $2 over the limit. This reduction ends once you reach NRA, and any withheld benefits are returned to you through higher monthly payments.
Common Misconceptions
Reality: NRA is not the age at which you receive the most money. If you can afford to wait, delaying until 70 provides a significantly higher lifetime benefit if you live past your early 80s. The "full" in Full Retirement Age simply means no reduction or increase. It's the neutral reference point.
Reality: This was true for those born before 1938, but NRA has been gradually increasing. For anyone born in 1960 or later, NRA is 67. Using 65 as your NRA could lead to significant miscalculations in retirement planning.
Reality: If you file early, the reduction is permanent. Your benefit will never increase to what it would have been had you waited until NRA (though it will still receive annual COLA adjustments).
Calculate Your Specific Situation
Your optimal filing age depends on many personal factors: your health, other income sources, spousal considerations, and more. Use the SSA.tools calculator to see exactly how different filing ages affect your benefits based on your actual earnings record.
The calculator shows your NRA based on your birth date and displays how your benefit changes at every possible filing age from 62 to 70.
Related Guides
- Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) – The benefit amount you receive at NRA
- Maximum Social Security Benefit – What it takes to receive the highest possible benefit
- Spousal Benefits and Filing Dates – How NRA affects spousal benefit calculations
- Divorced Spouse Benefits – Eligibility rules for benefits based on an ex-spouse's record
- Delayed January Bump – How delayed credits are applied after NRA
- Working While Receiving Benefits – How the earnings test affects benefits before NRA