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Full Retirement Age in 2021 and Beyond

Full Retirement Age in 2021 and Beyond
A sign is seen outside a U.S. Social Security Administration building in Burbank, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2020. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images
Tom Margenau
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I know many people are saying, “Good riddance” to 2020, partly due to political turmoil but primarily due to the deadly COVID-19 virus. But as for me, I have been dreading 2021. Why? It has to do with the increase in the Social Security full retirement age. And therein lies a story.

For the first half-century of the Social Security program, life was simple. You could wait until 65 to collect full benefits. Or you could take a reduced benefit as early as age 62. The term “full retirement age,” or FRA, didn’t exist and wasn’t needed.

Tom Margenau
Tom Margenau
Author
Tom Margenau worked for 32 years in a variety of positions for the Social Security Administration before retiring in 2005. He has served as the director of SSA’s public information office, the chief editor of more than 100 SSA publications, a deputy press officer and spokesman, and a speechwriter for the commissioner of Social Security. For 12 years, he also wrote Social Security columns for local newspapers, and recently published the book “Social Security: Simple and Smart.” If you have a Social Security question, contact him at [email protected]
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