America's Social Security programme reaches its full retirement age of 67 in 2027. That number matters a great deal.
Workers who claim before 67 receive a permanent decrease to their monthly payments. Those who wait past that age get a higher amount each month.
There is also a distinct regulation for people who earned above the annual limit before reaching full retirement age. Once they turn 67, they can get back any payments that were kept aside.
A cost-of-living adjustment expected for 2027 could move certain recipients into a higher tax bracket, which would eat into any gain from that rise.