Social Security Calculator: Estimate Your Benefit and Best Claiming Age

Your Social Security benefit comes from your 35 highest years of earnings: SSA averages them into a monthly figure, pays back 90%, 32% and 15% of three slices of it, then cuts the result if you claim before full retirement age or raises it if you wait. With 35 years of $70,000 in today's dollars, that works out to about $2,643 a month at 67, $1,850 at 62 or $3,278 at 70. Enter your earnings, or the benefit from your Social Security statement, to get your own estimate, the best claiming age for your life expectancy, break-even ages, spousal and survivor amounts, and the tax on your benefits.

Which calculator do I need? This page estimates your benefit and when to claim it. For how much this year's cost-of-living raise adds to a check you already get, use the Social Security COLA calculator. For how much of your benefit is taxable, use the taxable Social Security calculator.

The calculator is for informational purposes only and makes no guarantee of accuracy. Results are estimates in today's dollars; your actual benefit depends on your full earnings record, and SSA's figures control.

For the strategy behind these numbers, read Social Security claiming strategies and the 62 vs 67 vs 70 comparison.

How much Social Security will I get?

The table runs the calculator's earnings model for 35 years of the same earnings, using the 2027 formula that applies to anyone turning 62 in 2027 and stands in, in today's dollars, for anyone younger. Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. Monthly payments are rounded down to the dollar, as SSA does (42 U.S.C. §415(g)).

The formula is progressive. At $40,000 the benefit at 67 replaces about 55% of earnings ($1,843.70 × 12 = $22,124); at $100,000 it replaces about 41%; at the taxable maximum, about 28%. Doubling your pay does not double your benefit.

If you were born in 1964, you turn 62 in 2026 and the 2026 formula applies instead: $1,812.40, $2,612.40, $3,313.10 and $4,369.40 for the same four rows (the last at the 2026 taxable maximum of $184,500). Your benefit also gets the 3.6% cost-of-living increase payable in January 2027, because you became eligible before 2027 (SSA, Cost-of-Living Increase and Other Determinations for 2027).

The taxable-maximum row assumes you earned at least the cap in every one of 35 years, which few people do. Real earnings usually start lower and rise, so treat the first three rows as the more typical cases.

How is Social Security calculated?

SSA uses the same three steps for everyone who reaches 62 after 1978, set out in 42 U.S.C. §415 and SSA's PIA formula page.

Step 1: average your 35 highest years (AIME)

SSA indexes each year of your earnings to wage levels in the year you turn 60, using the national average wage index. Earnings from age 60 on count at face value. It then takes the 35 years with the highest indexed earnings, adds them up, divides by 420 (35 × 12 months) and rounds down to the dollar. That figure is your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME).

Three rules shape the result:

• 35 years, always. The count is the years from 22 through 61 minus five (§415(b)(2)). If you worked fewer than 35, the missing years count as zero.
• Only earnings up to the taxable maximum count. The contribution and benefit base is $184,500 for 2026 and $192,300 for 2027 (SSA contribution and benefit base). Earnings above it are neither taxed for Social Security nor counted toward benefits.
• A late high year can replace an early low one. Working past 62 raises your benefit only if the new year beats one of your current top 35.

Step 2: apply the bend-point formula (PIA)

Your primary insurance amount (PIA) is the benefit at full retirement age. It is 90% of your AIME up to the first bend point, plus 32% of the AIME between the two bend points, plus 15% above the second, rounded down to the next lower dime. The bend points rise each year with average wages, and the ones that apply are those for the year you turn 62 (SSA bend points):

SSA derives each year's bend points from the 1979 amounts of $180 and $1,085 multiplied by wage growth. For 2027 that is $180 × $72,800.33 ÷ $9,779.44 = $1,339.96, rounded to $1,340. If you turn 62 after 2027, your bend points have not been published yet. The calculator uses the 2027 figures, which keeps everything in today's dollars: your future bend points and your future pay should both grow with average wages. One caveat: the 2027 bend points are built from the 2025 average wage index, while the earnings you enter are in 2026 dollars, so for anyone turning 62 after 2027 the estimate can run a few percent high (roughly 3% at $70,000 of earnings).

Step 3: adjust for the age you claim

Claiming at full retirement age pays 100% of your PIA. Claiming earlier cuts it permanently, to as little as 70% at 62; waiting raises it by 8% a year to 124% at 70 when full retirement age is 67. The exact rules are in how claiming age changes your monthly check below. Cost-of-living increases apply from the year you turn 62, whether or not you have claimed.

Worked example: $70,000 a year

Take someone born in 1985 who has earned $70,000 a year (in today's dollars) for 20 years and plans to work 15 more.

• Years counted: 20 + 15 = 35, so no zero years
• AIME: $70,000 × 35 ÷ 420 = $5,833.33, rounded down to $5,833
• First slice: 90% × $1,340 = $1,206.00
• Second slice: 32% × ($5,833 − $1,340) = 32% × $4,493 = $1,437.76
• Third slice: none, because $5,833 is below $8,077
• PIA: $1,206.00 + $1,437.76 = $2,643.76, rounded down to $2,643.70
• Claiming: $1,850 a month at 62 (70%), $2,643 at 67, $3,278 at 70 (124%)

Now suppose the same person stops after 5 more years, for 25 in total. Ten zero years enter the average: AIME = $70,000 × 25 ÷ 420 = $4,166. PIA = $1,206.00 + 32% × $2,826 = $2,110.32, rounded to $2,110.30. The 10 extra years of work would have been worth $533.40 a month at full retirement age for life.

You need 40 credits to qualify

You need 40 quarters of coverage, or "credits," to be fully insured for retirement benefits (42 U.S.C. §414(a)). You earn one credit for each $1,890 of covered earnings in 2026 ($1,970 in 2027), up to four a year (42 U.S.C. §413), so it takes at least 10 years of work. The calculator warns you when your inputs give fewer than 40.

How this estimate differs from SSA's numbers

The earnings estimate is deliberately simple: you enter one annual figure, and it assumes the same real earnings in every past and future year. SSA's own calculators and your statement use your actual earnings record, year by year, indexed to average wages. Expect the two to differ when:

• Your pay changed a lot. Most careers start lower. If your early years were well below today's pay, your real AIME is lower than this estimate; if you earned more in the past, it is higher.
• You had gaps. Count only the years you actually had covered earnings in "years worked so far."
• You worked in jobs not covered by Social Security. Earnings from those jobs don't count toward your AIME.

For the most accurate figure, sign in to my Social Security, check your earnings record, and enter the full-retirement-age benefit from your statement with the "I know my benefit" option. The claiming-age comparison, break-even ages and tax figures then run on SSA's number.

What you need before you start

Your full retirement age. It depends only on your birth year:

Anyone turning 62 in 2026 was born in 1964 (or on January 1, 1965, since SSA treats you as reaching an age the day before your birthday), so their FRA is 67.

Your benefit at full retirement age, or your earnings. The benefit at FRA is your primary insurance amount (PIA). The best source is your Social Security statement at my Social Security, which shows your estimate at 62, at FRA and at 70: choose "I know my benefit," enter the FRA figure, and the calculator derives the others. Without a statement, choose "Estimate it from my earnings" and enter your birth year, your current annual covered earnings, the years you have worked and the years you plan to keep working. The calculator then derives your FRA from your birth year and your current age from the calendar.

Life expectancy. The lifetime totals and the "optimal" age depend entirely on this number. Run it at two or three ages — say 80, 85 and 92 — to see how sensitive your choice is.

How claiming age changes your monthly check

Claiming before full retirement age

SSA reduces your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim early, and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month (SSA: benefit reduction for early retirement; 20 CFR 404.410). The reduction is permanent.

With an FRA of 67, claiming at 64 is exactly 36 months early: 36 × 5/9% = 20%, so you get 80%. Claiming at 65 is 24 months early, or 86.67%.

Claiming after full retirement age

Each month you wait past FRA adds a delayed retirement credit of 2/3 of 1%, or 8% a year, up to age 70 (SSA: delayed retirement credits). No credits accrue after 70, so there is no reason to wait longer.

• FRA 67: three years of credits = 24%, so age 70 pays 124% of your full benefit.
• FRA 66: four years = 32%, so age 70 pays 132%.

Cost-of-living adjustments are added on top at every age — 2.8% for 2026 (SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet) and 3.6% payable from January 2027 (91 FR 67380) — so delaying does not mean missing COLAs. The calculator works in today's dollars and leaves COLAs out of both sides; to see what the next COLA does to your check after the Medicare premium, use the Social Security COLA calculator.

Lifetime benefits and break-even ages

The calculator multiplies each monthly benefit by the months from the claiming age to your life expectancy. Here is a single person with an FRA of 67 and a $2,500 full benefit, living to 85:

At a life expectancy of 90, the gap widens: $588,000 at 62 versus $744,000 at 70.

Break-even age is when the larger checks from waiting catch up with the head start from claiming early. For 62 versus 70: claiming at 62 collects $1,750 × 96 months = $168,000 before 70. Waiting adds $1,350 a month, so it takes $168,000 ÷ $1,350 = 124.4 months, or about 10.4 years. The break-even age is 80.4.

These ages ignore interest. If you would invest early benefits at a positive real return, the break-even moves a few years later; if you would otherwise draw down savings to wait, it moves earlier. They also ignore the survivor benefit, which can make delaying worthwhile for a married higher earner even if they personally die before break-even.

To weigh the claiming age against the rest of your income, including the tax on benefits, RMDs and withdrawals, the Retirement Withdrawal Planner spreadsheet compares two claiming ages year by year.

Working while you collect before full retirement age

If you claim before FRA and keep working, the retirement earnings test withholds benefits. For 2026, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $24,480; in the year you reach FRA, it withholds $1 for every $3 above $65,160 until the month you reach FRA (SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet). For 2027 the limits rise to $25,560 and $67,920 (91 FR 67380). Withheld benefits aren't lost — SSA recalculates your benefit at FRA — but claiming at 62 while still earning a full salary rarely makes sense. The calculator does not model the earnings test.

Spousal benefits

A spouse can receive up to 50% of the worker's full-retirement-age benefit, reduced if the spouse claims before their own FRA. If the spouse has their own record, SSA pays their own benefit first and adds only the difference. That difference is the "spousal benefit available" line in the calculator: 50% of your FRA benefit minus your spouse's FRA benefit.

Two rules matter for planning:

• Delayed retirement credits do not increase a spousal benefit. There is no reason for a spouse claiming only on the worker's record to wait past their FRA.
• "Restricted application" — taking only a spousal benefit while delaying your own — was limited to people born before January 2, 1954. Everyone in that group is now past 70, so it no longer applies to new claims.

Divorced spouses can claim on an ex-spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, they are unmarried, and they are 62 or older. If the divorce was at least two years ago and the ex is at least 62, they can claim even if the ex has not applied.

Survivor benefits

When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of their own benefit or the deceased spouse's benefit. At the survivor's own FRA, that is the deceased's actual benefit, including delayed retirement credits. If the deceased claimed early, the survivor gets the larger of the deceased's reduced benefit or 82.5% of the deceased's full benefit.

That is why the higher earner's claiming age matters so much for couples. With a $2,500 full benefit and an FRA of 67:

• Claiming at 62 leaves a survivor benefit of $2,062.50 (82.5% of $2,500, because $1,750 is lower).
• Claiming at 70 leaves $3,100.

The difference — $1,037.50 a month — is what the calculator shows as the survivor gain from delaying. It is paid for as long as the survivor lives, which for a couple at 62 is often into the 90s. Survivors can claim as early as 60 with a reduction, and remarrying after 60 does not end survivor benefits.

How Social Security benefits are taxed

Up to 85% of your benefits can be federally taxable. The test uses provisional income: your other income plus tax-exempt interest plus half of your benefits (IRS Publication 915).

These thresholds have never been indexed for inflation. The taxable amount phases in — it is not "50% or 85% of everything" once you cross a line.

Worked example (single, age 67): $30,000 of benefits and a $25,000 pension.

• Provisional income: $25,000 + 50% × $30,000 = $40,000
• Above the $25,000 base: $15,000. The first $9,000 (up to $34,000) counts at 50% = $4,500
• The remaining $6,000 above $34,000 counts at 85% = $5,100
• Taxable benefits: $4,500 + $5,100 = $9,600 (32% of benefits)
• With the 2026 standard deduction of $16,100, the $2,050 age-65 add-on and the $6,000 senior deduction, taxable income is $10,450 and federal tax is $1,045 — $960 of it caused by the benefits

The calculator runs this worksheet for the first year at your best claiming age, using the income you enter as "other taxable retirement income" and your tax-exempt interest. For married couples it files jointly and includes your spouse's benefit once they are old enough to have claimed it. For other filing statuses and more detail, use the taxable Social Security calculator or read how Social Security benefits are taxed.

Bridging the years before you claim

Delaying to 70 usually means living on savings first. The calculator's action plan estimates how much you would draw to cover your annual income need, minus other retirement income, from age 62 (or today, if older) until your best claiming age, and what is left at your expected return. With a $60,000 income need, $12,000 of pension income and $500,000 saved at 6%, waiting from 62 to 70 draws $384,000 and leaves about $322,000. To see how long what's left will last once benefits start, use the how long will my money last calculator. Federal employees who retire before 62 under MRA+30 or 60+20 get a FERS supplement that bridges part of this gap; the FERS retirement calculator estimates it.

Drawing traditional IRA money in those years has a second benefit: it can be taxed in low brackets before benefits and required minimum distributions stack on top. Pair the bridge with partial Roth conversions using the Roth conversion calculator.

When claiming early can make sense

• Short life expectancy. With serious health problems or a family history of early death, the break-even ages above may be out of reach.
• You are the lower earner in a couple. The lower earner's benefit disappears at the first death, so claiming it earlier costs the household less.
• You have no other way to pay the bills. Claiming early beats high-interest debt or a forced sale of investments in a down market.

Limits of this calculator

• The earnings estimate assumes the same real earnings every year and covers people born in 1964 or later; it does not read your SSA record or apply wage indexing to it.
• Anyone turning 62 after 2027 is estimated with the 2027 bend points and taxable maximum, in today's dollars; because those bend points reflect the 2025 wage index, the estimate can run a few percent high.
• Lifetime values are in today's dollars, with no COLAs and no discounting.
• Your spouse's claiming age is set to 70 if their life expectancy is over 85, otherwise to FRA, using the same FRA as yours.
• The earnings test, family maximum, Medicare premiums and state tax on benefits are not included.
• The "optimal" age compares 62, FRA and 70 only, and uses your stated life expectancy for you alone.

If you change your mind, you can withdraw a claim within 12 months by repaying everything received, once in your lifetime. After FRA you can also suspend benefits to earn delayed credits up to 70.