Key retirement dates calculator.

Your date of birth

Your date of birth is worked out on this page and is not sent to us or stored. Births from 1943 on.

Key dates for someone born June 15, 1968

This is an example. Enter your own date of birth above to see yours, counted from today.

1. 2018

   age 50

   Catch-up contributions open

   In the year you turn 50 you can add more than the normal limit to an IRA and to employer plans that take salary deferrals.

   Source: IRS: significant ages for retirement plan participants

2. 2023

   age 55

   HSA catch-up opens

   If you are 55 or older by the end of the tax year, you can put an extra catch-up amount into a health savings account.

   Source: IRS: Publication 969 · HSAs in retirement

3. 2023

   age 55

   Rule of 55 opens

   If you leave a job in or after the year you turn 55, you can take money from that employer's plan without the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals. It does not apply to IRAs, and it covers only the plan of the job you left. Qualified public safety employees: age 50.

   Source: IRS: Form 5329 instructions · How 72(t) schedules work

4. December 15, 2027

   age 59½

   Penalty-free withdrawals begin

   From this date, money taken from an IRA or 401(k) generally avoids the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals. Income tax still applies to pre-tax money.

   Source: IRS: Topic no. 557

5. 2028 to 2031

   ages 60 to 63

   Higher 401(k) catch-up window

   In the calendar years you turn 60 through 63, a 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457 plan may let you contribute more than the normal catch-up. Plans are not required to offer it.

   Source: IRS: catch-up contributions

6. July 2030

   age 62

   Earliest month for Social Security

   The first full month you are 62, the earliest you can start retirement benefits. Starting here permanently reduces the monthly amount compared with waiting. SSA counts you as 62 for a whole month only if your birthday is the 1st or 2nd of it.

   Source: SSA: retirement benefits planner · When to claim Social Security

7. 2031

   age 63

   Income that sets your first Medicare premiums

   Medicare looks at your tax return from two years earlier to decide whether you pay higher premiums (IRMAA). The year you turn 63 is the one that counts for the year you turn 65, so a large Roth conversion or gain that year can raise them if your income is high enough.

   Source: SSA: POMS on modified adjusted gross income · IRMAA explained

8. March 1, 2033 to September 30, 2033

   age 65

   Medicare enrollment window

   A seven-month window: the three months before the month you turn 65, that month, and the three months after. Sign up for Part B before your birthday month and it starts on the first of that month; sign up in that month or after and it starts the month after you sign up. Premium-free Part A starts the month you turn 65. Health savings account contributions have to stop once Medicare starts.

   Part B can start as early as June 1, 2033, if you sign up before that month.

   Source: Medicare.gov: when does coverage start · Medicare basics for planning

9. July 2035

   age 67

   Full retirement age

   The first full month with your Social Security benefit not reduced for starting early.

   Your full retirement age is 67.

   Source: SSA: retirement benefits planner

10. June 15, 2038

    age 70

    Social Security stops growing

    Waiting past full retirement age adds delayed retirement credits, up to age 70. There is no more to gain from waiting after this date.

    Source: SSA: early or late retirement

11. December 15, 2038

    age 70½

    Qualified charitable distributions open

    From this date you can send money from an IRA straight to a charity and keep it out of your taxable income. It can count toward your required minimum distribution.

    Source: IRS: giving through your IRA

12. 2043

    age 75

    Required minimum distributions begin at 75

    From the year you reach 75, you have to withdraw a minimum each year from pre-tax IRAs and 401(k)s. The first can wait until April 1 of the next year, but then two come due that year.

    The first one is due by April 1, 2044; after that, by December 31 each year.

    Source: IRS: RMD FAQs · RMD calculator

Dates are to the month or the day the rule allows. A date in a calendar year (like the Rule of 55) means that whole year. Educational only, not tax, legal or financial advice.

What changes by birth year?

Two of these dates depend on the year you were born: your Social Security full retirement age and the age required minimum distributions start. The rest are the same for everyone (59½, 62, 65, 70). From the same rules this calculator uses.

Years, not exact dates: your birth month and day move each one within its year. People born on January 1 use the previous year's full retirement age (SSA). Born in 1959 the law gives both 73 and 75; the table shows 73, the earlier age, and the IRS has not said which applies.

Methodology: how these dates are worked out

Every date comes from a rule a government source states, listed under each date above. The arithmetic is plain: ages are counted from your birth date, so 59½ is six months after your 59th birthday. Social Security counts you as having reached an age the day before your birthday, so only people born on the 1st or 2nd of a month are that age for the whole of their birth month (SSA POMS RS 00615.015); everyone else starts the month after. The IRS describes the Rule of 55 as a distribution from a qualified plan after separation from service "in or after the year you reach age 55" (Form 5329 instructions). Medicare's initial enrollment period "lasts for 7 months, starting 3 months before you turn 65, and ending 3 months after the month you turn 65" (Medicare.gov).

If a birthday falls on a day the target month does not have (a 31st landing in a 30-day month, a leap day), the date moves to the first of the next month, so a date never comes out earlier than the age it stands for. The calculator's code is checked against a separate version of the same rules for hundreds of birth dates, including the 1st, the 2nd, the 29th to 31st and leap days, before it ships.

Assumptions

Twelve dates, each with its official source. Two depend on your birth year: your Social Security full retirement age (66 for 1943 through 1954, rising two months a year for 1955 through 1959, 67 for 1960 and later; someone born on January 1 uses the previous year's) and the age required minimum distributions start (the table above). The rest are the same for everyone. If you enter the age you would stop working, the calculator also shows the gaps that follow: years of your own health coverage before Medicare, whether 59½ is past, and how far Social Security is. The dated deadlines still ahead can be added to your calendar as an .ics file: 59½, Social Security at 62 and at full retirement age, 70, 70½, the Medicare window opening and closing, and the first RMD due date, each with a reminder two weeks before. Year-level items (the catch-up windows, the Rule of 55, the HSA catch-up and the age 63 income year) get no event. Your date of birth is worked out in your browser and is not sent anywhere or stored.

Inputs and limits

Birth year 1943 to 2010; the age you would stop working is optional.

Worked example

For someone born June 15, 1968, the dates are (the list above has each date's meaning and source):

• 2018, age 50: Catch-up contributions open.
• 2023, age 55: HSA catch-up opens.
• 2023, age 55: Rule of 55 opens.
• December 15, 2027, age 59½: Penalty-free withdrawals begin.
• 2028 to 2031, ages 60 to 63: Higher 401(k) catch-up window.
• July 2030, age 62: Earliest month for Social Security.
• 2031, age 63: Income that sets your first Medicare premiums.
• March 1, 2033 to September 30, 2033, age 65: Medicare enrollment window.
• July 2035, age 67: Full retirement age.
• June 15, 2038, age 70: Social Security stops growing.
• December 15, 2038, age 70½: Qualified charitable distributions open.
• 2043, age 75: Required minimum distributions begin at 75.

With a stopping age of 60 (June 2028): about 5 years of your own health coverage before Medicare; 59½ is already past; Social Security is 2 years 1 month away at 62 and 7 years 1 month away at full retirement age.

What it ignores

This tells you what the rules allow, not what is best for you. It does not know your plan's own rules (an employer plan can be stricter than the law), your work history, a spouse's dates, disability, or special cases like public safety employees, who get the Rule of 55 at 50. The IRS has not settled whether people born in 1959 start required withdrawals at 73 or 75; this uses 73. Rules and limits change, so check the linked sources and talk to a qualified professional before acting. Educational only. It does not estimate Social Security benefit amounts or Medicare premiums, and it does not tell you which date to claim Social Security or when to retire.

Last reviewed: November 1, 2026. This date moves only when the methodology is checked against the live calculator again, not when the page is rebuilt.

For a worked example and the one-day differences that move a date by a month, read your key retirement dates, from one birthday.

Frequently asked questions

What are the key ages for retirement planning?

Ages 50 and 55 (catch-up contributions open; the Rule of 55 starts), 59½ (the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals generally stops applying to IRA and 401(k) money), 60 to 63 (a higher 401(k) catch-up in plans that offer it), 62 (the earliest Social Security month), 65 (Medicare), your full retirement age (66 to 67), 70 (Social Security stops growing), 70½ (qualified charitable distributions) and 73 or 75 (required minimum distributions). This calculator turns your date of birth into the exact dates.

At what age can I withdraw from my 401(k) or IRA without the 10% penalty?

Generally 59½. The IRS says early distributions are generally those taken before age 59½, and they carry a 10% additional tax unless an exception applies (IRS Topic no. 557). Two common exceptions: a distribution from a qualified plan such as a 401(k) after you separate from service in or after the year you turn 55 (not from an IRA), and substantially equal periodic payments under 72(t). Ordinary income tax still applies to pre-tax money either way.

What is the Rule of 55?

The IRS Form 5329 instructions list an exception for qualified retirement plan distributions received after separation from service, "when the separation from service occurs in or after the year you reach age 55" (age 50 for qualified public safety employees and private sector firefighters). It covers the plan of the job you left, not IRAs, and the money is still taxed as income. For someone born June 15, 1968, that is any separation in or after 2023.

What is my Social Security full retirement age?

For people born from 1943 through 1954 it is 66. It rises two months a year for 1955 (66 and 2 months) through 1959 (66 and 10 months), and is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later (Social Security Administration). Someone born on January 1 uses the previous year's age. You can start as early as 62, which permanently reduces the monthly amount, and delayed retirement credits stop at 70.

Why is my earliest Social Security month a month after my 62nd birthday?

SSA counts you as having reached an age the day before your birthday, and pays for a month only if you are that age for the whole month. A birthday on the 1st or 2nd of a month means you are 62 for all of your birth month, so you can start then. Any other birth date means the following month (SSA POMS RS 00615.015).

When should I sign up for Medicare?

Medicare's initial enrollment period "lasts for 7 months, starting 3 months before you turn 65, and ending 3 months after the month you turn 65" (Medicare.gov). For someone born June 15, 1968 that is March 1, 2033 to September 30, 2033, and Part B can start as early as June 1, 2033 if you sign up before that month. Different timing can apply if you have coverage through a current job.

What if I retire before 65?

Medicare does not start until 65 for most people, so you need health coverage of your own until then: COBRA, a spouse's plan, or an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan. Enter the age you plan to stop above to see how many months that is for you. The ACA subsidies and early retirement post covers what the marketplace costs.

When do required minimum distributions start?

At 70½ for people who reached 70½ before 2020 (born before July 1, 1949), at 72 for people born July 1, 1949 through 1950, at 73 for people born 1951 through 1959, and at 75 for people born in 1960 or later. The first one can wait until April 1 of the following year, but then two come due that year. For people born in 1959 the law is ambiguous between 73 and 75 and the IRS has not settled it, so this calculator uses 73.

Does this calculator save my date of birth?

No. The dates are worked out in your browser and your date of birth is not sent to us or stored. If you add the dates to your calendar, the file is created on your device.