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Social Security Calculator

See your monthly Social Security check at any age from 62 to 70, find your full retirement age, and learn when waiting starts to pay off.

Level: Grades 7–8

  • Common Core standard 7.RP.A.3Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.
  • Common Core standard 8.EE.C.7.bSolve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.
Printable worksheet

Social Security Calculator

Know the answer you need? Pick an input to work backward.

Inputs
Start from

The 'at full retirement age' figure on your Social Security statement at ssa.gov.

Born on January 1? Enter the year before.

Result

Monthly benefit claiming at 62

$1,400.00

With a full benefit of $2,000.00 and a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 pays about $1,400.00 a month, versus $2,480.00 at 70; the later claim pulls ahead in total at age 80 and 5 months. This is an estimate in today's dollars.

Monthly benefit claiming at 70
$2,480.00
Full benefit at full retirement age (PIA)
$2,000.00
Full retirement age
67
Change from the full benefit
-30%
Yearly benefit at your claiming age
$16,800.00
Break-even age between the two choices
Age 80 and 5 months
Total received by age 85, claiming at 62
$386,400.00
Total received by age 85, claiming at 70
$446,400.00

See the step-by-step solution ↓

Monthly benefit by claiming age (today's dollars)
Monthly benefit by claiming age (today's dollars)
Claiming ageMonthly benefitShare of full benefitTotal by age 85
62$1,400.0070%$386,400.00
63$1,500.0075%$396,000.00
64$1,600.0080%$403,200.00
65$1,733.3386.67%$416,000.00
66$1,866.6793.33%$425,600.00
67$2,000.00100%$432,000.00
68$2,160.00108%$440,640.00
69$2,320.00116%$445,440.00
70$2,480.00124%$446,400.00

Step-by-step solution

  1. Find your full retirement age, which depends on your birth year. Born in 1964, yours is 67

    full retirement age in months=804

  2. Claiming at your age (62) is 60 months early, so the benefit is cut. It loses 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each of the other 24

    36×59+24×512=30%

  3. Find the monthly check if you claim at 62: 70% of your full benefit

    $2,000.00×70%=$1,400.00

  4. The comparison age (70) is 36 months after full retirement age, so the benefit grows. It gains 2/3 of 1% for each month you wait

    36×23=24%

  5. Find the monthly check if you claim at 70: 124% of your full benefit

    $2,000.00×124%=$2,480.00

  6. Find the break-even age, in months: when the total from claiming at 70 catches up with the total from claiming at 62

    $2,480.00×840−$1,400.00×744$2,480.00−$1,400.00=964.44

Test yourself

20 quick questions built from this calculator's formula: work out results, predict what happens when an input changes, and work backward from an answer. Every answer comes with the working.

Please note: Results are estimates for planning and comparison. Lenders, banks, and tax authorities may round differently or include fees not modeled here, so confirm figures with your provider before deciding.

What this calculator does

See how big your monthly Social Security check would be, depending on the age you start it. Your benefit depends a lot on when you claim. Start at 62 and your check is smaller for good. Wait past your full retirement age, and it grows by 8% a year until 70.

The calculator uses the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) own rules for cutting or raising your full benefit. You can see the monthly amount at any age from 62 to 70 and compare two ages side by side. It also finds the break-even age: the point where waiting starts to pay off in total.

Start from the 'at full retirement age' estimate on your Social Security statement. You can see it in a my Social Security account at ssa.gov. If you know your AIME (average indexed monthly earnings), the calculator can work out your full benefit from the 2026 formula instead. Either way, the results are estimates in today's dollars. The SSA's figures for your record are the real ones.

Where it's used

Why this math matters outside the classroom:

  • Early claiming. A worker with a $2,000 full benefit and a full retirement age of 67 gets 70% of it, or $1,400 a month, by claiming at 62.
  • Delayed credits. Waiting three years past a full retirement age of 67 adds 3 × 8% = 24%, turning $2,000 into $2,480 a month.
  • Break-even planning. Retirees solve 1,400(t − 744) = 2,480(t − 840) for t, finding that waiting to 70 pays off in total after about 964 months of age.
  • Couples' strategy. Married couples often have the higher earner delay to 70, because that larger check continues as the survivor's benefit.
  • Benefit formula. With an AIME of $5,000, the 2026 formula gives 90% of $1,286 plus 32% of $3,714, a full benefit of $2,345.80.

Grade level and standards: Grades 7–8; Common Core State Standards for Mathematics 7.RP.A.3, 8.EE.C.7.b. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

How to use it

  1. Choose whether to start from your benefit at full retirement age or from your AIME. Then enter the amount.
  2. Enter the year you were born. If your birthday is January 1, enter the year before, as the SSA does.
  3. Enter the age you plan to claim, and a second age to compare it with. You can add months to either age.
  4. Read the monthly benefit at each age, the break-even age, and the table of benefits from 62 to 70.

What the inputs mean

Monthly benefit at full retirement age
Your statement lists estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70. Use the full-retirement-age figure. It's your full benefit, called your primary insurance amount (PIA), if you keep working until then.
Average indexed monthly earnings (AIME)
AIME is the average of your highest 35 years of earnings, divided by 420 months. Each year's pay is first adjusted (indexed) for how much wages have grown since. Years with no earnings count as zero. Most people don't know their AIME, so the statement figure is easier.
Year you were born
Full retirement age is 66 for people born 1943–1954. It goes up by 2 months a year for 1955–1959, and it's 67 for 1960 and later.
Age you plan to claim
Benefits can start at 62. There's no reason to wait past 70, because the yearly increases (delayed credits) stop then.

Formula and method

PIA (from AIME, 2026) = 90% × first $1,286 + 32% × AIME from $1,286 to $7,749 + 15% × AIME above $7,749
months early = FRA − claiming age (in months)
early benefit = PIA × (1 − 5/9% × min(months, 36) − 5/12% × months beyond 36)
late benefit = PIA × (1 + 2/3% × months after FRA, up to age 70)
break-even age = (b_late × age_late − b_early × age_early) ÷ (b_late − b_early)

In the formulas, PIA is your full monthly benefit at full retirement age (FRA). AIME is your average indexed monthly earnings. Ages are counted in months. b_early and b_late are the monthly benefits at the earlier and later claiming ages, and age_early and age_late are those two ages.

Claiming early cuts your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age. Each month beyond that cuts another 5/12 of 1%. So claiming at 62 with a full retirement age of 67 costs 20% + 10% = 30%.

Waiting adds 2/3 of 1% per month (8% a year) up to 70. So waiting from 67 to 70 adds 24%.

The break-even age is when the total you've collected from the later start catches up with the total from the earlier one. Before that age, the early claimer is ahead. After it, the later claimer is. Yearly cost-of-living raises lift both choices by the same percent, so they don't move the break-even in today's dollars.

Worked example

You were born in 1964, and your statement shows $2,000 a month at full retirement age. You're weighing claiming at 62 against waiting until 70.

  1. Full retirement age for someone born in 1964: 67, or 804 months.
  2. Claiming at 62 is 60 months early: 36 × 5/9% + 24 × 5/12% = 20% + 10% = 30% off. So the benefit is $2,000 × 70% = $1,400 a month.
  3. Claiming at 70 is 36 months late: 36 × 2/3% = 24% more. So the benefit is $2,000 × 124% = $2,480 a month.
  4. Break-even: ($2,480 × 840 − $1,400 × 744) ÷ ($2,480 − $1,400) = 964.44 months of age. So waiting pulls ahead by age 80 and 5 months.

Result: Claiming at 62 pays $1,400 a month, and claiming at 70 pays $2,480. If you live past about 80 and 5 months, waiting until 70 collects more in total.

Understanding the result

The break-even age is a planning guide, not a verdict. Waiting tends to pay if you expect to live well past it. It also tends to pay if you're the higher earner in a married couple, because your benefit can become your spouse's survivor benefit.

Claiming earlier can make sense if you need the income or have health concerns. It can also make sense if you'd otherwise have to draw down your savings heavily.

The bigger check you get from waiting also rises with inflation and lasts for life. That works like buying a guaranteed income for the rest of your life. The table's totals by age 85 show the trade-off in plain dollars.

If you claim before full retirement age while still working, the earnings test can hold back some benefits for a while. The calculator doesn't include that.

Assumptions and limitations

  • The rules for cutting and raising retirement benefits come from the SSA's Program Operations Manual. It's 5/9 of 1% and 5/12 of 1% per month early, and 2/3 of 1% per month late for people born in 1943 or later. The increases stop at 70.
  • The 2026 PIA bend points ($1,286 and $7,749) are where the benefit formula's percentages change. They apply to people first eligible (turning 62) in 2026. For other birth years, they're used as an approximation in today's dollars.
  • Benefits are in today's dollars, with no cost-of-living raises, taxes or investment returns. Amounts aren't rounded down to the dollar, as the SSA does.
  • This is an estimate, not your official benefit. Your Social Security statement at ssa.gov is based on your actual earnings record, so that's the figure to rely on.
  • It doesn't include spousal, survivor or disability benefits, the earnings test, government pension rules, or Medicare premiums taken out of benefits.
  • A benefit is paid for a month only if you've been that age for the whole month. So for most people, claiming 'at 62' really means 62 and 1 month.

Frequently asked questions

What is my full retirement age?

It's 66 if you were born from 1943 through 1954. It's 66 and 2 to 10 months if you were born 1955 to 1959, and 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. A January 1 birthday counts as the year before.

How much smaller is my benefit if I claim at 62?

With a full retirement age of 67, it's 30% smaller, so a $2,000 full benefit becomes $1,400. With a full retirement age of 66, it's 25% smaller.

How much do I gain by waiting until 70?

8% for each full year after full retirement age (2/3 of 1% a month). With a full retirement age of 67, that's 24% more, so $2,000 becomes $2,480 a month.

What is the Social Security break-even age?

It's the age when the total benefits from claiming later catch up with the total from claiming earlier. Comparing 62 with 70 for someone with a full retirement age of 67, it's about 80 and 5 months. That's true whatever the benefit amount.

Where can I find my real benefit estimate?

Sign in to a my Social Security account at ssa.gov. Your statement shows estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70, based on your actual earnings record.

Sources

How this calculator is checked

Method: SSA 2026 PIA bend points and 90/32/15% formula (Federal Register doc. 2025-19763); full retirement age table, early reduction (5/9% and 5/12% per month) and delayed retirement credits (2/3% per month to 70) from SSA POMS RS 00615.003, RS 00615.101 and RS 00615.692; break-even from equating cumulative benefits (figures in src/lib/finance/retirement-2026.ts). The calculation is covered by automated tests with known reference values and edge cases. Last updated 2026-10-18. Found a problem? Tell us.

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