--- title: Social Security's Confusing 'Full Retirement Age' May Get a Rebrand description: Congress advances a Social Security bill to update benefit age terms, aiming to simplify retirement choices for Americans. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-09-29T15:31:06.000Z' modified: '2025-09-29T15:31:06.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 566 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo-illustration of people waiting in line to climb a large piggy bank](https://img.money.com/2025/09/News-Social-Security-Full-Retirement.jpg) Claiming Social Security retirement benefits could soon become a little easier to understand. Bipartisan legislation that aims to simplify the terminology related to claiming retirement benefits is picking up steam in Congress. Earlier this month, the [Claiming Age Clarity Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5284/all-actions) advanced through the House Ways and Means Committee in a 41-to-1 vote, and a companion bill has been introduced in the Senate. As its name implies, the entire purpose of the bill is to clarify when Americans can start claiming their retirement benefits — and the effects of doing so at various ages. If passed, the bill would require the Social Security Administration to update three main terms it uses in rules and other public communications. - “Early eligibility age” would become “minimum benefit age.” The earliest age someone can begin receiving retirement benefits is 62. However, doing so comes with a permanent reduction in benefits of up to 30%. - “Full retirement age” would become “standard benefit age.” This is age 66 or 67, depending on one’s birth year. - “Delayed retirement age” would become “maximum benefit age.” Age 70 is the latest age at which someone can begin receiving retirement benefits. Doing so comes with an 8% annual increase in benefits, up to 24% above the standard benefit. “Hard-working Americans deserve simple, straightforward information when planning for retirement, especially when it comes to claiming Social Security,” Michele Stockwell, president of Bipartisan Policy Committee Action, said in a [statement](https://smucker.house.gov/media/press-releases/smucker-beyer-introduce-claiming-age-clarity-act) when the bill was introduced on Sept. 10. AARP, the nonprofit advocacy group for older Americans, says it has long supported efforts to simplify Social Security terminology. “These changes will help people better understand the lasting impact of their claiming choices,” Bill Sweeney, AARP’s senior vice president on government affairs, wrote in a [recent letter](https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2025/09/aarp-ways-and-means-committe-markup-letter-091725-markup.pdf) to Congress. ## Protect your retirement with a Reverse Mortgage ### If you are over 62, a Reverse Mortgage from Longbridge Financial (NMLS# 957935) can help you take care of expenses or even invest in things that will improve your quality of life. Click on your state to learn more. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/s978d3010185?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025%2F) ## Americans struggle with nuances of Social Security benefits Older Americans are increasingly reliant on Social Security retirement benefits to make ends meet. According to a Nationwide Retirement Institute [survey](https://nationwidefinancial.com/media/pdf/NFM-24801AO.pdf) in August, 56% of Social Security recipients said they could not survive financially if they missed even half of a monthly payment. The survey also found that about 8 in 10 Americans could not accurately identify the age at which they would receive standard retirement benefits. “Too many near-retirees lack clear information about how their claiming age affects benefits,” AARP's Sweeney said in his letter. AARP’s [own research](https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/topics/work-finances-retirement/social-security/social-security-claiming-age.doi.10.26419-2Fres.00764.001.pdf) shows that while many Americans broadly understand that waiting to claim benefits could increase them, 76% couldn’t identify the correct age to maximize payments, which is 70. With the financial stakes so high, mistakenly claiming benefits at the wrong age could have disastrous long-term consequences on retirees’ finances. For instance, the average monthly retirement benefit is currently $1,955, according to the [Social Security Administration](https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/#table2). Claiming benefits too early could result in a penalty of up to $586.50, reducing the monthly payment to just $1,368.50. On the other hand, after waiting until age 70 to fully maximize benefits, the monthly payment could be as high as $2,425.20. In other words, depending on the age you claim your benefits, your monthly payment could hypothetically range between $1,368.50 and $2,424.20 — or over $1,000 a month. ## With a Reverse Mortgage, you can invest in your future starting today ### Work with a licensed Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) representative today. [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/t879fd448b2c?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/39553/medium_d01d803f-1110-4310-8997-bada342c27e4.webp) Get the most out of your Reverse Mortgage with Finance of America (NMLS# 2285) [Learn More](https://money.com/pr/ed1a928f8683?ap_referrer=%2Fsocial-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social Security's Confusing 'Full Retirement Age' May Get a Rebrand" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/", "name": "Social Security's Confusing 'Full Retirement Age' May Get a Rebrand", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-09-29T15:31:06.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-claiming-age-clarity-act-2025/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-09-29T15:31:06.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Social Security's Confusing 'Full Retirement Age' May Get a Rebrand", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/09/News-Social-Security-Full-Retirement.jpg", "width": 2800, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Social-Security-Full-Retirement" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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