COLA Ledger

An independent reference — not affiliated with the Social Security Administration. Every figure traced to the government publication that produced it.

Full retirement age if you were born in 1940

Full retirement age, born 1940

65 and 6 months

Reached during 2005. This cohort turned 62 in 2002 and turns 70 in 2010.

At age 62
77.5%$1,550 on a $2,000 PIA
At full retirement age
100%$2,000
At age 70
131.5%$2,630
Delayed credit
7.0%/yrfrom FRA to 70

The calendar for this cohort

Full retirement age is a rule about your birth year, but what it means in practice is a set of dates. These are yours.

Key years for someone born in 1940
MilestoneYearWhat changes
Turns 622002Earliest retirement claim. The benefit formula’s bend points are fixed for life at this year, and cost-of-living adjustments begin applying.
Reaches full retirement age2005The unreduced benefit becomes payable and the retirement earnings test stops applying.
Turns 702010Delayed retirement credits stop accruing. Waiting longer gains nothing.

The 24 adjustments this cohort has actually seen

Adjustments apply from the year you turn 62, claimed or not. For this cohort that means every adjustment payable from January 2003 onward. Applied year by year to a $2,000 primary insurance amount — flooring to the whole dollar each year, the way SSA does it, not compounding one average rate — the result is $3,632.

Every adjustment applied to a $2,000 primary insurance amount since 2003
Payable yearAdjustmentRunning amount
20031.4%$2,028
20042.1%$2,070
20052.7%$2,125
20064.1%$2,212
20073.3%$2,284
20082.3%$2,336
20095.8%$2,471
20100.0%$2,471
20110.0%$2,471
20123.6%$2,559
20131.7%$2,602
20141.5%$2,641
20151.7%$2,685
20160.0%$2,685
20170.3%$2,693
20182.0%$2,746
20192.8%$2,822
20201.6%$2,867
20211.3%$2,904
20225.9%$3,075
20238.7%$3,342
20243.2%$3,448
20252.5%$3,534
20262.8%$3,632
Total since 2003+$1,632

3 of those years produced no increase at all. The largest single adjustment in this cohort’s window was 8.7% and the smallest was 0.0%. Every adjustment since 1975.

What claiming early or late is worth, in dollars

The percentages below are statutory and apply to the primary insurance amount before any cost-of-living adjustment. A $2,000 primary insurance amount is used here so the arithmetic is legible; scale it to your own figure.

Claim age against a $2,000 primary insurance amount, born 1940
Claim atShare of PIAMonthlyAgainst full retirement age
62 (in 2002)77.5%$1,550-$450
65 and 6 months (in 2005)100%$2,000—
70 (in 2010)131.5%$2,630+$630

This site does not tell you when to claim

The table above is arithmetic, not advice. When to claim depends on your health, your savings, your spouse’s record, whether you are still working and how the earnings test interacts with all of it. This site covers rates, history and arithmetic and stops there, deliberately.

Other birth years

Common questions

What is full retirement age for someone born in 1940?

65 and 6 months, reached during 2005. Claiming before that permanently reduces the monthly benefit; claiming after it earns delayed retirement credits of 7.0% a year up to age 70.

How much less is a benefit claimed at 62 for this cohort?

77.5% of the primary insurance amount — a permanent reduction of 22.5%. On a $2,000 primary insurance amount that is $1,550 a month instead of $2,000.

How many cost-of-living adjustments has this cohort seen?

24 since age 62 in 2002, the most recent being 2.8% for 2026. Applied year by year to a $2,000 primary insurance amount they compound to $3,632.

Do adjustments only start when you claim?

No. Adjustments apply from the year you turn 62 whether or not you have claimed. Someone who waits until 70 still receives every adjustment in between — they are built into the benefit before the delayed retirement credits are applied.

Sources and freshness

Figures effective statutory, unchanged since 1983. Page figures last verified against the sources above on 10 August 2026. Corrections: the correction log · support@inventum.com.au