If you were born in 1960, your Social Security full retirement age is 67, and you reach it in 2027. That makes you the first birth year whose full retirement age is a flat 67, with no extra months. At 67 you get 100% of your retirement benefit, the earnings test stops applying, and every month you wait after that adds 2/3 of 1% to your check until 70. One exception: if your birthday is January 1, 1960, Social Security treats you as born in 1959, so your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months and you already reached it in late 2026.
This page covers only the 1960 group and what happens to you in 2027. For every birth year side by side, see our Social Security full retirement age chart.
Born in 1960: Your Key Ages and Dates
Social Security says you reach an age on the day before your birthday (20 CFR 404.102). That small rule decides which month counts as your full retirement age month.
| Milestone | Age | Calendar year (born Jan 2 to Dec 31, 1960) | Benefit as a share of your full amount |
|---|
| Earliest retirement claim | 62 | 2022 | 70% |
| Medicare eligibility | 65 | 2025 | Not a Social Security benefit |
| Full retirement age (retirement and spousal) | 67 | 2027 | 100% |
| Full retirement age for survivor benefits | 66 and 8 months | 2026 or 2027 | 100% of the survivor amount |
| Maximum delayed retirement credits | 70 | 2030 | 124% |
Sources: SSA POMS RS 00615.003 (full retirement age tables); 20 CFR 404.409, 404.410 and 404.313.
Which month is your full retirement age month? For most people it is your birthday month in 2027. If you were born on the 1st of a month, you reach 67 on the last day of the month before, so your full retirement age month is the month before your birthday. Someone born March 1, 1960 reaches full retirement age in February 2027.
People born January 1, 1961 are the mirror case. They count as born in 1960 and reach 67 on December 31, 2027. Their full retirement age is 67, and it lands in December 2027.
What Changes for Your Check in 2027
Four things change for the 1960 group in 2027. Some happen in January for everyone, and the rest happen in the month you reach 67.
1. The 3.6% cost-of-living increase arrives in January
Social Security announced a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) on October 14, 2026. It applies to benefits for December 2026, which are paid in January 2027. If you already collect, your check goes up whether or not you have reached 67. If you have not filed yet, the COLA still counts. Your benefit is indexed for each COLA starting the year you turn 62, so waiting does not make you miss it. See our 2027 COLA guide for more.
2. The earnings test uses the higher limit, then ends
If you claimed early and still work, Social Security can hold back part of your benefit when your earnings pass a yearly limit. In the calendar year you reach full retirement age, the limit is much higher and the penalty is smaller. For the 1960 group, that year is 2027.
| Your situation | 2026 limit | 2027 limit | What is withheld |
|---|
| Under full retirement age all year | $24,480 a year ($2,040 a month) | $25,560 a year ($2,130 a month) | $1 for every $2 over the limit |
| Year you reach full retirement age | $65,160 a year ($5,430 a month) | $67,920 a year ($5,660 a month) | $1 for every $3 over, counting only earnings before your full retirement age month |
| Month you reach full retirement age and after | No limit | No limit | Nothing |
Source: SSA POMS RS 02501.025, annual exempt amounts for 2026 and 2027.
For someone born in 1960, 2026 is the last year under the lower limit and 2027 is the year under the higher one. Earnings from your full retirement age month onward do not count at all.
Example. Dana was born June 15, 1960. She claimed at 63 and works full time. She reaches 67 in June 2027, so only her pay for January through May 2027 counts. If she earns $80,000 in those five months, she is $12,080 over the $67,920 limit. Social Security withholds $1 for every $3, about $4,027. From June 2027 on, she can earn any amount with nothing withheld.
If your birthday is in January or early February 2027, you have almost no months before full retirement age in 2027, so the 2027 limit barely touches you. The limit that matters for you is the 2026 one, $24,480.
The full mechanics are in our Social Security earnings test guide.
3. Withheld months are credited back at 67
Money withheld under the earnings test is not simply lost. When you reach full retirement age, Social Security recalculates your benefit and treats each month that was fully withheld as if you had not claimed for that month (20 CFR 404.412). That shrinks your early claiming reduction and raises your monthly check for life. You do not have to ask for this. It happens automatically, though it can take a few months to show up.
4. Waiting past 67 starts earning delayed credits
If you have not claimed yet, every month you wait after your full retirement age month adds 2/3 of 1% to your benefit, or 8% a year (20 CFR 404.313). The credits stop at 70, which for the 1960 group is 2030.
| Start benefits at | Share of full benefit | Example if full benefit is $2,200 |
|---|
| 67 (in 2027) | 100% | $2,200 |
| 68 (in 2028) | 108% | $2,376 |
| 69 (in 2029) | 116% | $2,552 |
| 70 (in 2030) | 124% | $2,728 |
These examples leave out future COLAs, which are added on top. Social Security rounds the final payment down to the whole dollar. Your own full benefit amount is on your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount.
If You Have Not Filed Yet: Timing Your 2027 Claim
You can apply up to four months before the month you want benefits to start. For a June 2027 start, that means applying as early as February 2027.
Back payments after 67. Once you are past full retirement age, you can ask for up to six months of retroactive retirement benefits, paid in a lump sum. Social Security will not pay retroactive months that fall before your full retirement age month, because that would cut your benefit. Taking retroactive months also gives up the delayed credits you earned in those months.
There is no reason to wait past 70. Credits stop at 70, and you only get six months of back pay, so filing late after 70 loses money.
Spousal Benefits When You Turn 67
Your spouse's full retirement age depends on your spouse's birth year, not yours. But if you were born in 1960, your own full retirement age for spousal benefits is also 67.
- If you collect a spousal benefit on your partner's record, you get up to 50% of their full benefit at 67. Taken at 62, it would have been 32.5%.
- Spousal benefits do not earn delayed credits. Once you reach 67, waiting longer does not raise a spousal benefit. If a spousal benefit is the larger amount you can get, filing at 67 usually makes sense.
- Your partner must have filed for retirement benefits before you can get a spousal benefit (divorced spouses have a separate rule).
- Deemed filing. Because you were born after January 1, 1954, applying for one benefit counts as applying for both your own retirement and the spousal benefit. You cannot take one and let the other grow.
More detail, including divorced spouses, is in our spousal benefits guide for 2027.
Survivor Benefits Use a Different Age
Widows and widowers born in 1960 have a survivor full retirement age of 66 and 8 months, not 67. That is the age when a survivor benefit is paid at 100% of what the deceased worker was getting, or was owed. It comes from a separate table in SSA's rules (POMS RS 00615.003). For people born January 2, 1960 through January 1, 1961, that point falls in 2026 or 2027.
If you are a widow or widower, you can take the survivor benefit and your own retirement benefit at different times. A common pattern is to take one first and switch to the other when it is larger. That choice is not covered by deemed filing, which applies only to spousal benefits.
Medicare Is Already in Place for You
People born in 1960 turned 65 in 2025, so most of this group is already eligible for Medicare. Full retirement age and Medicare age are no longer the same thing, and that split causes three common problems.
Part B premiums come out of your check once you collect. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month. If you are on Medicare but have not started Social Security, you pay Part B by bill. Once you claim, Social Security deducts it from your payment. CMS had not published the 2027 Part B premium when this page was written. Our 2027 Part B premium page tracks it.
Your 2027 Part B cost depends on your 2025 income. Higher earners pay an extra amount called IRMAA, and it is based on your tax return from two years earlier. A big final working year in 2025 can raise your 2027 premium. If you have since stopped working, Form SSA-44 lets you ask Social Security to use your newer, lower income. See our Form SSA-44 guide.
Claiming Social Security after 65 starts Part A, which can back-date up to six months. If you file for retirement in 2027 and you did not already have Part A, Medicare Part A starts automatically and can go back up to six months, but no earlier than the month you turned 65. You cannot put money into a health savings account (HSA) for any month you have Part A, so stop HSA contributions about six months before you file to avoid a tax penalty.
If you delayed Part B because you had coverage from your own or your spouse's current job, you have eight months after that job or coverage ends to sign up without a late penalty. Retiring at 67 is a common trigger for this.
If You Get SSDI
If you were born in 1960 and receive Social Security disability (SSDI), your disability benefit converts to a retirement benefit automatically in your full retirement age month in 2027. The amount stays the same, and there is no new claim to file. After the switch, the earnings test is gone, so you can work without the substantial gainful activity limit that applied under SSDI. Our SSDI to retirement conversion guide covers what the notice looks like.
Steps to Take Before Your 2027 Birthday
- Confirm your full retirement age month. Use your birth date and the day-before-birthday rule above. If you were born January 1, 1960, your age is 66 and 10 months, not 67.
- Sign in to my Social Security at ssa.gov/myaccount. Check your earnings record for missing years and review your estimates at 67 and 70.
- Estimate your 2027 earnings before your full retirement age month if you already collect and still work. Compare them to $67,920. If you will go over, report it to Social Security early so they withhold the right amount instead of sending an overpayment notice later.
- Check your Medicare status. Know whether you have Part A and Part B, and whether you delayed Part B because of job coverage.
- Stop HSA contributions about six months before you plan to file, if you have an HSA.
- Apply up to four months ahead. You can file online at ssa.gov, by phone at 1-800-772-1213, or at a local office.
- If you are married, compare both records before you file, since deemed filing means you only get one decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the full retirement age for someone born in 1960?
It is 67. People born in 1960 are the first birth year whose full retirement age is exactly 67, and they reach it during 2027. If you were born on January 1, 1960, Social Security counts you as born in 1959, so your full retirement age is 66 and 10 months.
How much can I earn in 2027 if I turn 67 that year?
You can earn $67,920 before your full retirement age month without anything being withheld. Above that, Social Security holds back $1 for every $3. Earnings in and after the month you reach 67 do not count, so there is no limit from then on.
Do I get the 2027 COLA if I have not claimed yet?
Yes. Your benefit is adjusted for every COLA starting the year you turned 62, which for the 1960 group was 2022. The 3.6% COLA for 2027 is built into your benefit whether you start at 67, 70 or anywhere in between.
If I claimed early at 62, does my check go up at 67?
Not automatically because of age. The early claiming reduction is permanent. The exception is if any months were withheld under the earnings test. At 67, Social Security credits those months back and raises your check.
Is the survivor full retirement age also 67 for people born in 1960?
No. For widows and widowers born January 2, 1960 through January 1, 1961, the survivor full retirement age is 66 and 8 months.
I am already on Medicare. Does anything change for Medicare when I turn 67?
Medicare itself does not change at 67. What changes is how you pay. Once you start Social Security, your Part B premium is taken out of your check. If you start Social Security without Part A, Part A can be back-dated up to six months, which matters if you contribute to an HSA.
Can I suspend my benefit after 67 to earn delayed credits?
Yes. Once you reach full retirement age, you can ask Social Security to suspend your retirement benefit and earn 8% a year in delayed credits until 70. While it is suspended, anyone getting benefits on your record (except a divorced spouse) also stops receiving them, and you must pay Part B premiums directly.
