Social Security Calculator

A Social Security retirement benefit starts with your primary insurance amount (PIA), the monthly benefit you would receive at full retirement age. The Social Security Administration (SSA) computes it from your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME): your 35 highest years of earnings, each indexed to national wage growth, added up and divided by 420 months. The age you claim then raises or lowers that amount permanently.

This calculator applies the SSA formula to an AIME you enter, or takes the full-retirement-age benefit straight from your my Social Security statement, and shows the monthly benefit at any claiming age from 62 to 70, the break-even ages between them and an estimated spousal benefit. Amounts are in today's dollars: future cost-of-living increases are not added.

PIA = 90% × AIME up to b₁ + 32% × AIME from b₁ to b₂ + 15% × AIME above b₂

The bend points b₁ and b₂ rise each year with the national average wage index, and the ones that apply to you are those for the year you turn 62. For 2026 they are $1,286 and $7,749. The result is rounded down to the next lower dime, then increased by each cost-of-living adjustment from the year you turn 62 onward. The payment itself is rounded down to the whole dollar.

If you turn 62 after 2026, your bend points are not yet published, so the calculator uses the 2026 figures. Because both your AIME and the bend points are indexed to wages, entering an AIME in today's wage terms gives an estimate in roughly today's dollars. The formula weights low earnings most heavily, so the benefit replaces a larger share of income for lower earners.

Claiming before full retirement age reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. Waiting past full retirement age earns delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% a month (8% a year) until 70, after which there is no further increase. Full retirement age is 66 for people born 1943 to 1954, rises by two months a year for 1955 to 1959, and is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

AIME of $5,000, born 1964

This worker turns 62 in 2026: 0.90 × 1,286 + 0.32 × (5,000 − 1,286) = $2,345.80 after rounding down to the dime. Claiming at 67 pays $2,345 a month; at 62 it is $1,642 (70%) and at 70 it is $2,908 (124%). Waiting from 67 to 70 pays off in total dollars at about age 82.5.

A maximum earner

SSA's own 2026 example uses an AIME of $14,358, which gives a PIA of $4,216.90. Only 15% of the AIME above the second bend point is added, which is why benefits rise much more slowly than earnings at the top.

Using a statement figure, born 1958

With a statement benefit of $2,400 at full retirement age (66 and 8 months), claiming at 62 pays $1,720, a 28.33% reduction for 56 months early. A spouse whose own benefit is $900 would receive $1,200 at their full retirement age, half of the worker's PIA.

The break-even age is when the larger checks from claiming later have made up for the checks you skipped while waiting. If you expect to live past it, claiming later pays more in total; if not, claiming earlier does. The comparison here is in today's dollars and ignores investment returns on early checks, taxes and survivor benefits. For married couples, the higher earner's delay also raises the survivor benefit the other spouse could inherit, which often matters more than the individual break-even.

• Your real earnings record. SSA uses every year of covered earnings, up to the taxable maximum ($184,500 in 2026). Gaps count as zeros in the 35-year average. Your statement is the authoritative figure.
• Working while claiming early. In 2026, before the year you reach full retirement age, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 earned above $24,480; in that year, $1 for every $3 above $65,160. Withheld months are credited back at full retirement age.
• Deductions and taxes. Medicare Part B premiums are usually deducted from the check, and up to 85% of benefits can be federal taxable income depending on your other income.
• Spousal details. The spousal figure assumes the spouse claims at their own full retirement age and the worker has already filed. Claiming spousal benefits early reduces them by a different schedule.