Social Security Retirement Age History
Social Security has gone through many changes since its inception in the 1930s, allowing for inflation and disability benefits; however, laws defining the normal retirement age were not changed until the 1980s.
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Social Security Act of 1935
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The economic stress of the Great Depression propelled President Franklin D. Roosevelt to enact a plan for economic security. The Social Security Act of 1935 provided that benefits were to be paid to a worker when he retired at age 65. The benefits paid out were to be based on payroll contributions that the worker made before retirement.
Social Security Amendments of 1961
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The Social Security Amendments of 1961 allowed workers to elect reduced retirement benefits with early retirement at age 62. Women were given the option to retire early in 1956, but men first became eligible for early retirement in 1961. Workers could choose to retire at the full retirement age of 65 and receive full benefits.
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Social Security Reform
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The Social Security crisis of the 1980s warranted changes to the system. In April 1983, Social Security reform included gradually raising the retirement age starting in 2000. American workers born after 1960 now have a full retirement age of 67.
Fun Fact
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Although Social Security benefits in the modern sense did not exist until 1935, one of the first proposals for retirement security came from revolutionary war activist Thomas Paine. His 1795 pamphlet "Agrarian Justice" called for a property inheritance tax to create a fund. Every person age 50 and older would be paid an annual benefit of 10 pounds sterling to protect them from poverty as they became elderly.
Social Security Statement
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The Social Security Administration mails each worker an annual record of the earnings on which they paid Social Security taxes and an estimated summary of the benefits they are eligible to receive if retiring early or at the full retirement age.
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