Retiring at 66, 67, 68, or 70

Different Retirement Ages, Different Decisions

Many California workers retire well past 65 — at the UC system, in tech, in healthcare, and in government. Each retirement age has different Medicare-Social Security coordination considerations.

Retiring at 66 or 67

Your Full Retirement Age (FRA) for Social Security is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. Retiring at FRA gives you full Social Security benefits without earnings reductions and complete Medicare flexibility.

• You can claim Social Security and full benefits simultaneously
• If you delayed Part B, your 8-month SEP starts when employer coverage ends
• Get your Medicare card 3 months before your retirement date

Retiring at 68 or 69

Each year you delay Social Security past FRA earns delayed retirement credits — about 8% more per year up to age 70. Many California professionals at this age are still maximizing pension benefits.

• Continue building delayed retirement credits
• If still working with employer coverage of 20+ employees, you can still delay Part B
• HSA contributions must end if you enroll in any Medicare

Retiring at 70

Age 70 is when delayed retirement credits stop accumulating. There’s no benefit to delaying Social Security further — you should claim by 70 even if still working.

• Claiming Social Security automatically enrolls you in Part A (retroactive 6 months)
• Last chance to optimize Social Security claiming
• Many Californians use this milestone as their retirement target

Why Mid-Year Retirement Is Smoother

Retiring mid-year (e.g., June or July) often creates a cleaner Medicare transition than year-end retirement:

• Spreads income over two tax years, potentially reducing IRMAA in the following year
• Avoids retiring at the same time as Medicare’s Annual Enrollment Period (Oct 15 – Dec 7), reducing administrative chaos
• Gives you several months to compare Medicare Advantage and Medigap plans before AEP