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Don’t quit your day job — because Americans will soon have to wait longer than ever to retire.
For the first time since Social Security’s creation 90 years ago, the full retirement age is set to hit 67 years old in 2026.
That is of course, if Social Security lasts long enough for you to reach that age, with new data showing the program is likely to run out of money by 2034.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law in 1935, creating an insurance program to provide workers aged 65 and older with a steady income in retirement.
Introduced to fight elder poverty, biographer Kenneth S. Davis described it as "the most important single piece of social legislation in the entirely of American history."
But next year, Americans will have to wait until they turn 67 before they can collect payments with no limitations.
Those approaching retirement face important decisions about when to collect their Social Security payouts — with the repercussions being significant and worth thousands of dollars.
Should I retire at 62, 65, 67, or 70?
When to start collecting Social Security benefits depends entirely on individual circumstances.
Americans can opt to take early retirement at 62 years old, though, monthly benefits will be reduced permanently.
Those born in 1959 will be the first group to face a full retirement age of exactly 67 and each year a claimant waits past the FRA permanently increases their benefit (until 70).
Using a FRA of 67 and a base monthly benefit of $1,800, here’s how the numbers play out.
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Americans turning 62 next year – the first age group that can claim Social Security benefits – would receive just 70 percent of the full amount, or $1,260 per month, if they begin early retirement.
At age 65, the benefit rises to roughly 87 percent of the full benefit, or $1,560.
Retiring at 67 unlocks the full benefit of $1,800.
For those who delay retirement until age 70, monthly payments climb to an estimated $2,323, around 124 percent of the base amount.
Benefits no longer increase after becoming a septuagenarian.
Why did the law change?
The new retirement age did not happen overnight and has been climbing gradually after Congress passed a set of reforms which were signed into law by President Ronald Reagan more than four decades ago.
While the Social Security Act was born in the depths of the Great Depression, its 1983 amendment came amid another era of economic strain.
The system was on the brink of financial collapse after the U.S. had experienced back-to-back recessions. Benefit payouts began to exceed income, meaning Social Security, as it stood, was no longer sustainable.
The original act was designed when life expectancy in the U.S. was just 61 years, so there were vastly fewer retirees and benefits would not have been collected as long.
By 1983, Americans were living much longer, with the average life expectancy over 74 years (79 today). The ratio of active workers to retirees also shrank dramatically, from 42 to 1 to 3.6 to 1 (2.7:1 today).
The law change meant that people turning 65 in 1990 were the last to have a full retirement age of exactly 65. Starting in 1991, the full retirement age increased by two months each year, meaning those turning 65 in 1991 had to wait until 65 years and 2 months; in 1992 it was 65 years and 4 months, and so on.
From 1996 to 2007, anyone turning 65 had an full retirement age of 66 years. After that, the retirement age continued rising by two-month increments until it reached 67 for those turning 65 in 2026 and beyond.
