What is a Social Security calculator?
This Social Security Calculator helps you decide when to claim retirement benefits. The first tool compares every claiming age from 62 to 70 and shows which one leaves you with the most money by your life expectancy. The second compares two specific ages using the monthly amounts from your own Social Security statement. It is aimed at workers in their 50s and 60s planning retirement income.
How to use it
- Best claiming age: enter your birth year, life expectancy, an investment return and a cost-of-living adjustment, then click Calculate.
- Compare two ages: enter two retirement ages with the monthly benefit for each (from your statement at ssa.gov), plus a return and COLA.
You never need to enter your Social Security number. Do not give it to any calculator website.
How Social Security benefits are calculated
The Social Security Administration indexes your earnings for wage growth, takes your 35 highest-earning years, and averages them into your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). A formula then turns your AIME into your primary insurance amount (PIA), the benefit you get at full retirement age. Claiming earlier reduces it; claiming later increases it.
Key facts about claiming age
- Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
- Claiming at 62 pays about 70% of the full benefit, permanently.
- Each year you wait past full retirement age adds 8%, up to age 70, so claiming at 70 pays about 124%.
(Source: ssa.gov retirement planner and SSA: effect of early or delayed retirement)
Benefit by claiming age (born 1960 or later)
| Claiming age | % of full benefit | If full benefit is $2,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70% | $1,400 |
| 63 | 75% | $1,500 |
| 64 | 80% | $1,600 |
| 65 | 86.7% | $1,733 |
| 66 | 93.3% | $1,867 |
| 67 | 100% | $2,000 |
| 68 | 108% | $2,160 |
| 69 | 116% | $2,320 |
| 70 | 124% | $2,480 |
Example: break-even between 62 and 70
With a $2,000 full benefit, claiming at 62 pays $1,400 a month and claiming at 70 pays $2,480. Waiting means giving up 96 months × $1,400 = $134,400. The extra $1,080 a month then takes about 124 months (just over 10 years) to make that up, so ignoring COLA and investment returns, the break-even is around age 80½. If you expect to live well beyond that, waiting pays more over your lifetime.
Tips for a useful estimate
- Create a free my Social Security account at ssa.gov to see your earnings record and your estimated benefit at 62, 67 and 70, then enter those amounts in the comparison tool.
- Check your earnings record for missing years; a gap counts as a zero in your 35-year average.
- Try more than one life expectancy. Your health and family history matter more than any average.
- If you are married, consider survivor benefits: the higher earner delaying can raise the surviving spouse’s income.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no single salary that produces a set benefit. Your benefit is based on your 35 highest years of earnings, adjusted for wage growth, and on the age you claim. Someone with steady high earnings for most of a career, who also delays claiming, is far more likely to reach $3,000 a month than someone with the same final salary but fewer working years. The quickest way to see your own figure is the official estimator in your my Social Security account at ssa.gov.
Yes. Your my Social Security account at ssa.gov shows a personal estimate based on your actual earnings record. You can then use the comparison tool on this page to weigh different claiming ages.
If you were born in 1960 or later, claiming at 62 gives about 70% of your full retirement benefit for life. Waiting until 67 gives 100%, and waiting until 70 gives about 124%.
It depends on your health, other income, marital status and how long you expect to live. Claiming early gives more months of payments; claiming later gives a bigger check. In the example on this page the break-even between 62 and 70 is around age 80½. The best-age tool runs this comparison for your inputs.
The SSA averages your 35 highest years of indexed earnings into a monthly figure (AIME), applies a formula to get your primary insurance amount at full retirement age, and then reduces or increases it depending on when you claim.
Disclaimer: This calculator gives estimates for general information only. It is not financial, tax or legal advice. Results depend on the numbers you enter and on simplified assumptions, so your actual figures may differ. Check important decisions with a qualified professional or the official source.
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