Current Law Projections
- Early Eligibility
Age Beneficiaries
in 2050
Oldest Old
in 2050- Scheduled
vs. Payable
Benefits - Spousal-Only
Beneficiaries
in 2050 - Survivor-Only
Beneficiaries
in 2050 - Women & Dual
Entitlement,
2025–2080 - Why Will
Poverty Decline
for Beneficiaries?
Early Eligibility Age Beneficiaries in 2050
Released: October 2012Next expected update: Spring 2014
DEFINITION: The full retirement age (FRA) is the age a beneficiary's full Social Security benefit is payable. The monthly benefit is permanently reduced for every month before FRA that a beneficiary receives benefits. The earliest eligibility age for benefits is 62. Beneficiaries who claim benefits at 62 receive the largest benefit reduction.
In 2050, we project that:
- 59 percent of beneficiaries who start benefits at age 62 will be women.
- The poverty rate will be slightly higher for beneficiaries who start benefits at age 62 compared with beneficiaries who start benefits at 63 or older.
- More beneficiaries who start benefits at age 62 will be in lower earning households compared with beneficiaries who start benefits at age 63 or older.
- Beneficiaries who start benefits at age 62 will have lower median benefits compared with beneficiaries who start benefits at 63 or older.
- Beneficiaries have similar life expectancies regardless of claiming age.
NOTE: Disabled beneficiaries were not included in this analysis.
SOURCE: Modeling Income in the Near Term, Version 6 (MINT6) microsimulation model using 2011 Trustees Report intermediate assumptions.