As of late, when the topic of Social Security comes up, the matter of the Full Retirement Age is also often brought up — particularly in the context of the program’s projected insolvency as outlined in the latest annual report from the Social Security Board of Trustees. The age at which any individual retires will naturally differ from person to person relative to their personal circumstances. Retiring at age 65 could be considered the average, however, due to the Social Security program’s Full Retirement Age, if you retire at 65, you benefits will be subject to a reduction due to the Full Retirement Age (which is 66-67 years of age currently).
When the program was first introduced almost a century ago, the Full Retirement Age had indeed been set at age 65, with retirees being allowed to claim early from age 62. Due to growing life expectancy, as well as to prevent insolvency, the program was amended in 1983 and the Full Retirement Age was slated to increase in two month increments until it reached 67 years of age. In 2026, the Full Retirement Age will increase one final time as per the amendment, bringing it up to 67 years of age for those born in 1960 and later.
In an interview with Fox Business last week, Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Frank Bisignano stated that, “everything’s being considered, will be considered,” when asked if increasing the retirement age was on the table as a possible solution to the projected shortfall. Commissioner Bisignano later shared a post on social media platform to clarify his statement. Here is what you need to know.
Full retirement age and benefits
If you earned the required number of work credits during your working years by paying into the dedicated Social Security payroll tax, you will be able to claim benefits from the SSA from age 62. Claiming at 62 is, however, considered as claiming early since this is not the Full Retirement Age, and as such, your benefits are subject to a reduction of up to 30% depending on how many months there are before you reach your Full Retirement Age.
As mentioned above, the retirement age will increase for one final time in 2026, bringing the Full Retirement Age up to 67 for those born in 1960 and later, and following this, the retirement age would remain as is — unless Congress decides to make a change.
Social Security projected insolvency
In recent years, the program has had to rely more on funds from its OASI and DI trust funds to pay benefits, and as a result, the OASI fund is projected to become insolvent by 2033. At this point, a 23% cut to benefits will be triggered. Alternatively, if the trust funds are combined into one OASDI fund, the shortfall will occur in 2034, at which point a 19% cut to benefits will be triggered.
Subsequently, when asked if raising the retirement age is a possibility during a Fox Business interview last week, SSA Commissioner Bisignano said that “everything’s being considered”.
“Remember, most people told you and I Social Security wasn’t going to be around, and it’s going to be around. And so the generations that are coming in will probably have a different set of rules than we had,” Bisignano added.
Later that same evening, however, Bisignano clarified his initial statement during the interview via a post on X, wherein the SSA Commissioner asserted that raising the Full Retirement Age is not under consideration.
“Let me be clear: President Trump and I will always protect, and never cut, Social Security. That’s why we have made many vital reforms, such as cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from the program, to ensure the solvency of Social Security for future generations of Americans. Raising the retirement age is not under consideration,” Bisignano wrote.
A point that is under consideration is increasing the wage cap. For 2025, the wage cap stands at $176,100, however, this figure does tend to fluctuate year over year. Bisignano stated that this figure will continue to increase, and added that, “it’s another thing to put in the equation to think about.”