Beginning in 2025, individuals receiving Social Security will experience an additional two-month wait to achieve their full retirement age. For those born in 1959, the full retirement age will be set at 66 years and 10 months. This age is determined by one’s year of birth.
This age signifies when individuals are eligible to receive their complete retirement benefits based on their earnings throughout their working lives. Individuals born from May 2, 1958, to February 28, 1959, will attain their full retirement age in 2025. Those born in 1960 and later, if they choose to take retirement benefits a month before reaching their full retirement age, will see their benefits reduced.
For instance, a person retiring at the full retirement age in 2024 may qualify for a maximum monthly benefit amounting to $3,822.
Changes to Retirement Age for 2025
However, opting for retirement at age 62 would yield a maximum benefit of $2,710.
Individuals who postpone claiming benefits until they turn 70 can obtain a greater sum. The standard full retirement age was previously set at 65. However, due to the increase in life expectancy, Congress enacted a law in 1983 to amend it, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
As of 2023, roughly 2.6 million retirees in Pennsylvania are receiving Social Security benefits, as per reports from the SSA. Additionally, a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) of 2.5 percent, down from 3.4 percent, will take effect in January, resulting in an increase of about $50 per month in retirement benefits.
