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While Social Security is a critical source of income for most retirees, the reality is that many current workers don’t pay a lot of attention to its rules and complexities. And even those who are nearing retirement may not be aware of all of the details that affect the amount of their checks.
In fact, Social Security changed in 2025 and is changing again in 2026 — and the change went largely unnoticed by many, even though it will affect the retirement benefits of everyone who claimed Social Security this year or who will claim their benefits in the upcoming years.
Here’s how the benefits program changed, along with details on what it means for you.
This Social Security change went under the radar for many
The big Social Security change that has flown under the radar is a change to full retirement age (FRA). A recent study from Nationwide revealed that only 13% of adults know when their full retirement age is, so it’s not surprising that so many Americans were unaware of the change. It’s a problem, though, because your FRA has a major impact on when you can claim benefits.
See, you have a standard Social Security benefit that is calculated using a formula based on your average wages in the 35 years when you earned the most. You receive a percentage of your average wages, after indexing them to inflation. But you get this standard benefit only if you sign up to have your first Social Security check come at exactly your FRA. And, you don’t have to claim at your FRA as you can start benefits any time between 62 and 70.
A claim before FRA means your monthly benefit shrinks for the rest of your life, while a claim after FRA results in an increase to your benefit that also lasts for life. So, the stakes are high as you decide when to claim benefits relative to when your FRA is. Unfortunately, FRA has changed, and many Americans don’t know it or when their own FRA is.
This lack of knowledge could affect their benefit and their chances of making the optimal choice to ensure financial security during their later years.
Here’s how FRA has changed
The changes to FRA are occurring now because of reforms in 1983. Lawmakers needed to take steps to make Social Security more financially stable, and one of those steps involved moving FRA later. However, since this change to FRA is a de facto cut to benefits, lawmakers phased it in slowly over time, so retirees at the time were not impacted.
Today’s retirees are the ones who are facing the consequences of this legislation, as they have had to cope with a later claiming age every year for the last several years, and will again in 2026. Specifically:
- Anyone turning 66 in 2026 or beyond will have an FRA of 67 and can’t claim their full benefit until that time.
- Anyone who turned 66 in 2025 had an FRA of 66 and 10 months
- Anyone who turned 66 in 2024 had an FRA of 66 and 8 months
- Anyone who turned 66 in 2023 had an FRA of 66 and 6 months
- Anyone who turned 66 in 2022 had an FRA of 66 and 4 months
- Anyone who turned 66 in 2021 had an FRA of 66 and 2 months
Since the FRA used to be 65 for everyone before the reforms, this change is actually a pretty big one. It’s also gone almost entirely unnoticed, as the Nationwide survey revealed that Americans, on average, guessed that FRA was age 60.
Anyone who is retiring in the coming year, or who is planning to retire in the near future, must be aware that this rule shift means they now need to either wait a little longer to claim benefits or will face a lifetime reduction in their monthly income.
Working with a financial advisor to understand the implications of this change and to make an informed claiming choice can be a good idea, as Social Security will probably be a key income source in retirement, and it’s worth a little effort to understand what claiming age would work best for you.