The full retirement age has increased. In years past, retirement age was 65 for everyone, at which time one could file for retirement benefits. Today, however, given improved health on older individuals and an increased life expectancy, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has raised the "full" or normal retirement age for individual born in 1938 or later, changing expectations about when to file for social security and gradually increasing the full retirement age until it reaches 67 for individuals born after 1959. The SSA website, www.ssa.gov, offers a chart to help you determine your full retirement age. This can be viewed at http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/retirechart.htm. If you were born after 1937, and have a full retirement age of 65, you can still file for retirement benefits at age 62, but the monthly payment amount may be reduced as much as 25%.