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 1938

Full retirement age, born 1938

65 and 2 months

Reached during 2003. This cohort turned 62 in 2000 and turns 70 in 2008.

At age 62
79.17%$1,583 on a $2,000 PIA
At full retirement age
100%$2,000
At age 70
131.42%$2,628
Delayed credit
6.5%/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 1938
MilestoneYearWhat changes
Turns 622000Earliest 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 age2003The unreduced benefit becomes payable and the retirement earnings test stops applying.
Turns 702008Delayed retirement credits stop accruing. Waiting longer gains nothing.

The 26 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 2001 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 $3,856.

Every adjustment applied to a $2,000 primary insurance amount since 2001
Payable yearAdjustmentRunning amount
20013.5%$2,070
20022.6%$2,123
20031.4%$2,152
20042.1%$2,197
20052.7%$2,256
20064.1%$2,348
20073.3%$2,425
20082.3%$2,480
20095.8%$2,623
20100.0%$2,623
20110.0%$2,623
20123.6%$2,717
20131.7%$2,763
20141.5%$2,804
20151.7%$2,851
20160.0%$2,851
20170.3%$2,859
20182.0%$2,916
20192.8%$2,997
20201.6%$3,044
20211.3%$3,083
20225.9%$3,264
20238.7%$3,547
20243.2%$3,660
20252.5%$3,751
20262.8%$3,856
Total since 2001+$1,856

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 1938
Claim atShare of PIAMonthlyAgainst full retirement age
62 (in 2000)79.17%$1,583-$417
65 and 2 months (in 2003)100%$2,000—
70 (in 2008)131.42%$2,628+$628

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 1938?

65 and 2 months, reached during 2003. Claiming before that permanently reduces the monthly benefit; claiming after it earns delayed retirement credits of 6.5% a year up to age 70.

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

79.17% of the primary insurance amount — a permanent reduction of 20.8%. On a $2,000 primary insurance amount that is $1,583 a month instead of $2,000.

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

26 since age 62 in 2000, the most recent being 2.8% for 2026. Applied year by year to a $2,000 primary insurance amount they compound to $3,856.

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