Common Questions
What Is the Full Retirement Age for Someone Born in 1957?
- April 12, 2023
- Reviewed by John Krahnert
If you were born in 1957, congratulations. You’ve made it to the magic age of 65. But don’t trade in your business suit for a tropical shirt just yet.
Although you turned 65 years old in 2022, you will not reach your full retirement age until at least some point in 2023. Some people born in 1957 won’t reach your retirement age until 2024.
“Full retirement age” refers to the age at which you are eligible to begin receiving 100% of your Social Security retirement benefits. And if you were born in 1957, your full retirement age is 66 years and six months.
The age you become eligible to receive Medicare remains 65 years old (more on Medicare eligibility later in this guide).
When you turn 66 years and six months old, you may begin collecting the full amount of your monthly Social Security check. The average monthly retirement benefit check for a retired worker as of February 2023 is $1,830 per month.
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How much Social Security will I get at age 65?
If you wish to begin collecting Social Security benefits before reaching your full retirement age, you have the option to do so.
You became eligible to begin collecting reduced benefits when you turned 62 years old and the amount that you will receive gradually increases until reaching 100% when you reach 66 years and six months.
You can take home more than 100% of your benefits, however, by continuing to wait before you retire. For every year you delay Social Security retirement benefits beyond your full retirement age, your benefits increase by about 8% with a final cap of 128% at age 70.
The chart below shows the amount of Social Security retirement benefits you will receive at various ages of collection. The Social Security Administration’s retirement planner for people born in 1957 provides a more thorough breakdown.
| Age of Retirement Collection | Percentage of Social Security Retirement Benefits |
|---|---|
| 62 | 72.5% |
| 63 | 77.5% |
| 64 | 83.3% |
| 64 and six months | 86.7% |
| 65 | 90% |
| 65 and six months | 93.3% |
| 66 | 96.7% |
| 66 and six months | 100% |
| 67 | 104.3% |
| 68 | 112% |
| 69 | 120% |
| 70 | 128% |
If you choose to begin collecting Social Security before reaching your full retirement age, there is a limit as to how much working income you can earn before your Social Security check begins to decrease.
In 2023, you may earn up to $21,240 before your benefits will be further reduced. If you wait to reach full retirement age before you retire, there is no limit to how much you may earn after you begin taking retirement benefits.
How old do you have to be to get Medicare?
Your full retirement age has nothing to do with your Medicare eligibility age. However, your eligibility to collect Social Security determines your eligibility for Medicare, and the age at which you collect Social Security can affect your Medicare enrollment.
- First, you need to be eligible to collect Social Security in order to be eligible for Medicare.
You do not have to be receiving Social Security in order to receive Medicare; you only need to be eligible to do so. - If you are collecting Social Security benefits by age 65, you will be automatically enrolled in Medicare.
- If you choose to wait until your full retirement age to collect Social Security (or wait until any time after your 65th birthday, for that matter), you will not be automatically enrolled in Medicare and will have to manually sign up for coverage at your local Social Security office, online or over the phone.
You will become eligible to enroll in Medicare three months before your 65th birthday and you have until three months after your birthday to sign up before potentially accumulating late enrollment penalties.
If you are still working beyond age 65 and have health insurance through your employer, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period once you stop working and lose your coverage.
A Special Enrollment Period may allow you to enroll in Medicare plans outside of the traditional enrollment periods and without late enrollment penalties, depending on your unique situation.
For more complete information about Medicare eligibility and enrollment, consult our Medicare enrollment guide or connect with a licensed Medicare insurance agent.
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About the author
Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.
Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.
Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.
Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.
A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.
