Social Security and Medicare

Social Security retirement age

41 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It decides when you can retire with your full benefit, and raising it is one way to lower the program's costs.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

The age at which people can collect their full Social Security retirement benefit, which is 67 for people born in 1960 or later.¹

Raise the full retirement age
Keep it at 67

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Raise the full retirement age (4)

John Deaton MA Senate
His campaign website says he would gradually raise the retirement age for future workers only, with current retirees unaffected.²
Moshe Y. Landman MD-6
His campaign website says it would index the full retirement age to longevity as part of securing Social Security.³
Chris Dardzinski MI-13
His campaign website’s '5 by 5’ proposal, dated September 2024, would raise the Social Security retirement age in yearly steps from 67 years 7 months in 2026 to 71 years 7 months in 2030, leaving current recipients’ benefits as they are through December 2025.⁴
Steven Feldman NC-10
His campaign website says Social Security is going broke and needs changes to stay available, including raising the age of eligibility for healthy people who are still working.⁵

Keep it at 67 (29)

Jeff Frese CA-10
His campaign website says the Social Security retirement age should not be raised.⁶
Ro Khanna CA-17
His campaign website says he would protect the current Social Security retirement age.⁷
Raul Ruiz CA-25
His campaign website says he opposes any changes to the Social Security retirement age.⁸
Angélica María Dueñas CA-29
Her campaign website opposes raising the Social Security retirement age.^9,10
Mike Levin CA-49
His campaign website says he opposes efforts to privatize Social Security or raise the retirement age.¹¹
Manny Rutinel CO-8
His campaign website says he would stop anyone who tries to raise the retirement age.¹²
Rosa L. DeLauro CT-3
Her campaign website says she has voted against every attempt to cut Social Security or raise the retirement age.¹³
Matthew Montavon FL-17
His campaign website says he does not and will never support raising the Social Security retirement age.¹⁴
James T. Martin FL-21
His campaign website says he opposes any effort to raise the Social Security retirement age or privatize Social Security.¹⁵
Alexander Cooke FL-21
His campaign website says there should be no benefit cuts, no raising of the retirement age and no privatization of Social Security.¹⁶
Pia Dandiya FL-22
Her campaign website says she will defend Social Security and oppose any move to reduce benefits, raise the retirement age or turn the program over to Wall Street.¹⁷
Nicole Locklin FL-26
Her campaign website says she will never vote to raise the Social Security retirement age or privatize the program.^18,19
Eliott Rodriguez FL-27
His campaign website says he would oppose efforts to raise the retirement age, cut benefits or privatize Medicare and Social Security.²⁰
Tony Kozycki GA-7
His campaign website says he will oppose attempts to cut or privatize Social Security benefits, raise the retirement age or means-test benefits.²¹
Sarah Zabel ID-1
Her Social Security plan says she supports adjusting the benefit formula rather than raising the retirement age, and rejects the Brookings proposal to raise the full retirement age for higher earners.²²
Mike Bost IL-12
His campaign website says he opposes efforts to raise the retirement age.²³
André Carson IN-7
His campaign website says he strongly opposes efforts to raise the retirement age, cut Social Security benefits or privatize Social Security.²⁴
Gerardo Serrano KY-5
His campaign website says he will oppose Social Security benefit cuts and another increase in the retirement age.²⁵
LaVeta Davenport MI-1
The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, calls for funding Social Security without increasing the retirement age.²⁶
Hillary Scholten MI-3
Her campaign website says she opposes efforts to raise the retirement age.²⁷
Christina Bertrand Hines MI-10
Her Social Security topic page says she will reject changing the retirement age and that Social Security can be funded for decades without raising it.²⁸
DeVelle L. Jackson MN-5
It says he opposes privatizing Social Security, cutting its benefits or raising the retirement age again.²⁹
Erik Osberg MN-7
His Protecting Our Seniors priority says he opposes cutting Social Security benefits and raising the retirement age.³⁰
Seth Bodnar MT Senate
His campaign website says he will oppose any cuts to Social Security or Medicare benefits, including raising the eligibility age.³¹
Michael D Eisenhauer MT-2
His Voter Contract and Issues pages say he will work to protect Social Security and Medicare and provide cost-of-living increases without raising the retirement age.^32,33
Richard N. Ojeda II NC-9
His campaign website's Saving Social Security page says he opposes raising the retirement age and opposes privatizing the system.³⁴
Dan Osborn NE Senate
His campaign website says he will never vote to raise the retirement age.³⁵
Chris Pappas NH Senate
His campaign website says he will never vote to cut benefits or make seniors work longer and has fought efforts to raise the retirement age.³⁶
Afzal "Bobby" Khan NV-1
His campaign website says he opposes increases to the Social Security retirement age.³⁷

Statements that don't match one option (8)

Andrew Sneed AL-5
His campaign website lists gradually raising the full retirement age as another way to close Social Security's funding gap.³⁸
Kimberly Overman FL-12
Her campaign platform says she opposes raising the Social Security retirement age in ways that harm workers.³⁹
Tony D'Arrigo FL-13
His campaign website says his ultimate goal is to lower the retirement age.⁴⁰
Robert People FL-15
His Social Security plan says the talk that comes up every few years about raising retirement ages has gone on long enough.⁴¹
Michael J. Quirk FL-17
His campaign website says the Social Security retirement age should not go up for people who are retired or close to retiring.⁴²
Michael Bridgford IA-1
His campaign website says he pledges to vote against any changes to the retirement age or benefits for current retirees and for workers within 10 years of retirement.⁴³
Eric Pratt MN-2
His campaign website says Social Security cannot be sustained under its current rules, that the full retirement age may have to rise gradually because Americans are living and working longer, and that younger workers should be able to opt out and save for retirement on their own.⁴⁴
Trygve Hammer ND-AL
His campaign website's Social Security section objects to efforts by House Republicans to raise the retirement age, saying they are doing so rather than raising taxes on their wealthiest donors.⁴⁵