For pre-retirees across Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the wider Lehigh Valley, deciding when to start Social Security is one of the more consequential, and misunderstood, choices in a retirement plan. The Social Security retirement age is not a single number. It is a set of interlocking rules, full retirement age, early claiming reductions, delayed retirement credits, spousal and survivor provisions, that determine when benefits can start and how large they will be. Recent legislation and annual cost-of-living adjustments add another layer of change. This article walks through the current framework in general terms so you have context before working through your own numbers with a fiduciary advisor.
What Is Full Retirement Age, and How Has It Changed
Full retirement age (FRA), sometimes called normal retirement age, is the age at which the Social Security Administration pays your Primary Insurance Amount in full, with no reduction for claiming early and no increase from delaying. FRA was 65 for decades, until the 1983 Social Security Amendments began phasing it upward for people born in 1938 or later, largely in response to longer life expectancies.
The table below shows the current Social Security retirement age chart by birth year, according to the Social Security Administration (2026):
| Year of Birth | Full Retirement Age | | --- | --- | | 1943 to 1954 | 66 | | 1955 | 66 years, 2 months | | 1956 | 66 years, 4 months | | 1957 | 66 years, 6 months | | 1958 | 66 years, 8 months | | 1959 | 66 years, 10 months | | 1960 or later | 67 |
Note that if your birthday falls on January 1, the SSA treats you as if you were born in the prior year for this calculation. FRA is a reference point, not a requirement. You may claim retirement benefits as early as 62 or as late as 70, and the age you choose relative to your FRA determines whether your benefit is reduced, unchanged, or increased.
Claiming Early vs. Delaying: The Math Behind the Decision
The earliest age most people can claim retirement benefits is 62, and the latest age at which delaying still increases the benefit is 70. Between those two points, retirement age and benefit amount move together mechanically, in months rather than whole years.
Claiming before FRA reduces your monthly benefit permanently. For a worker whose FRA is 67, claiming at 62 results in a benefit about 30 percent lower than the full amount, based on SSA's published reduction schedule (2026). The reduction shrinks the closer you are to FRA when you file.
Delaying past FRA works in the opposite direction. Each year you wait beyond FRA, up to age 70, adds delayed retirement credits of about 8 percent per year, according to the SSA. For someone with an FRA of 67, waiting the full three years to 70 can raise the monthly benefit by roughly 24 percent above the FRA amount. Credits stop accruing at 70, so there is generally no additional benefit to delaying further.
If you plan to keep working before reaching FRA, note that the SSA applies an earnings test to benefits claimed early. In 2026, the limit is $24,480 for those under FRA all year, and a higher $65,160 applies to the months before you reach FRA in the year you turn FRA, per SSA's earnings test guidance (2026). Above those limits, benefits are temporarily withheld, though the SSA generally recalculates your benefit upward once you reach FRA. How much is ultimately recovered can depend on individual circumstances.
No single claiming age fits everyone: the right decision may depend on health, other income, family longevity, and marital status.
Spousal and Survivor Benefits
Social Security also pays benefits based on a spouse's earnings record. A spousal benefit can be worth up to 50 percent of the higher-earning spouse's Primary Insurance Amount at that spouse's FRA, and it is reduced if claimed before the receiving spouse's own FRA. Under SSA's published example, a $500 spousal benefit at FRA could be reduced to roughly $325 to $350 if claimed at 62, depending on the worker's FRA cohort.
Survivor benefits follow a related but separate set of rules. A surviving spouse may generally begin reduced survivor benefits as early as 60 (or 50 if disabled), with the full survivor benefit available at the survivor's own full retirement age for survivor benefits, which can differ slightly from the table above. Coordinating when each spouse, and eventually a survivor, claims is one of the more complex parts of a Social Security plan for couples and is generally best worked through with an advisor who can model your specific benefit history.
How Recent Legislation Is Affecting Future Retirees
A few legislative and administrative changes are worth knowing about heading into retirement planning conversations:
Cost-of-living adjustments. The SSA announced a 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026, raising the average monthly benefit for a retired worker from about $2,015 to $2,071, according to AARP's coverage of the SSA announcement (October 2025). The taxable wage base also rose for 2026, to $184,500 from $176,100. COLAs are reviewed annually and are not guaranteed to be the same size, or to occur, in future years.
The Social Security Fairness Act. Signed into law in January 2025, this act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset, according to the Social Security Administration. Those provisions had reduced benefits for people who also receive a pension from work not covered by Social Security, historically including many teachers and other public-sector employees. This may be particularly relevant for higher-education faculty and administrators with pension benefits from non-covered employment.
SECURE 2.0 Act provisions. SECURE 2.0 mainly affects workplace retirement accounts rather than Social Security directly, but it interacts with the retirement income picture Social Security is part of. The required minimum distribution age is currently 73, scheduled to rise to 75 in 2033. Workers turning 60 through 63 can also make higher catch-up contributions to eligible retirement plans, $11,250 in 2026 instead of the standard $8,000, per the IRS (2026). These provisions can shift how much taxable retirement income you draw alongside Social Security.
Tax Considerations for Social Security Income
Whether your Social Security benefit is taxed, and how much, depends on your "combined income," which is adjusted gross income plus nontaxable interest plus half your Social Security benefit. Under current federal rules, up to 50 percent of benefits may be taxable once combined income exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for married couples filing jointly, and up to 85 percent may be taxable above $34,000 or $44,000, according to IRS guidance. These thresholds are fixed by statute and not adjusted for inflation, so more retirees can be pulled into taxation over time as COLAs raise gross benefits.
At the state level, Pennsylvania does not tax Social Security benefits, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, a meaningful advantage for retirees in Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. Federal taxation, and taxation in any other state you split time in or relocate to, could still apply.
Because taxation of benefits is driven by other income, the years around your claiming decision, including any Roth conversions, retirement account withdrawals, or continued earnings, can meaningfully affect how much of your benefit is taxed. Thoughtful sequencing may help manage the tax picture, though outcomes depend on individual circumstances and are not guaranteed.
How a Local Fee-Only Fiduciary Advisor Can Help
The Social Security claiming decision touches your income, taxes, spouse's benefits, and decades of retirement cash flow at once, which is why it rarely has a single obvious answer. As a fee-only fiduciary advisor based in the Lehigh Valley, Wealthcare of the Lehigh Valley works with pre-retirees to model different claiming ages side by side, coordinate spousal and survivor strategies, and weigh the tax consequences of Social Security against withdrawals from IRAs, 401(k)s, and other accounts. Because we do not sell products or earn commissions, our recommendations are built around your full financial picture rather than any particular claiming age being "right" in the abstract.
We work closely with the pre-retirees, retirees, medical professionals, and higher-education faculty and administrators we serve across Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, and the broader Lehigh Valley to build claiming strategies around each household's earnings history, health considerations, and income goals.
If you are approaching your own Social Security decision and want to talk through the trade-offs for your situation, we would welcome the conversation. You can schedule a consultation with our team to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the full retirement age for Social Security in 2026?
For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age (FRA) is 67. Workers born from 1955 through 1959 have an FRA between 66 and 66 years and 10 months, increasing by two months per birth year, and workers born 1943 through 1954 have an FRA of 66. You can find your exact FRA on the Social Security Administration's age chart at ssa.gov.
How much does my Social Security benefit go down if I claim at 62?
For workers with an FRA of 67, claiming at the earliest possible age of 62 permanently reduces the monthly benefit by about 30 percent compared to waiting until FRA, according to SSA figures. The exact reduction depends on your specific FRA and the number of months before it that you claim.
Can I still work while receiving Social Security before full retirement age?
Yes, but earnings above the annual limit can temporarily reduce your benefit. In 2026, the SSA earnings limit is $24,480 for those under FRA all year, and $65,160 for the months before you reach FRA in the year you turn FRA. Once you reach FRA, the earnings test no longer applies, and any benefits withheld earlier are generally credited back into a higher monthly amount.
Is Social Security income taxed in Pennsylvania?
No. Pennsylvania does not tax Social Security benefits at the state level, regardless of your other income, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Your benefits may still be subject to federal income tax depending on your combined income, and other states may tax Social Security differently if you split time or relocate.
Written by Ayad Amary, CFP®, AIF®
Wealthcare of the Lehigh Valley
