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Social Security Benefits Calculator
What you get each month if you claim at 62, at full retirement age or at 70
This Social Security benefits calculator estimates your monthly retirement benefit with the SSA formula: your primary insurance amount (PIA) from your average indexed monthly earnings, cut for each month you claim before full retirement age and raised for each month you wait, up to 70.
| Claim at | Per month | Of PIA |
|---|---|---|
| 62 | $1,664 | 70% |
| Full retirement age, 67 | $2,377 | 100% |
| 70 | $2,947 | 124% |
What if you wait?
Your monthly benefit by the age you claim, with the same earnings.
Move along the curve to see each case; tap to pick it.
The key idea
Claiming at 62 is not a small discount: it is a cut you keep for life
Born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67. Claim at 62 and you get 70% of your full benefit every month for the rest of your life; wait until 70 and you get 124%. On a $2,377 full benefit, that is $1,664 a month against $2,947.
How it is calculated
Social Security figures your retirement benefit in three steps, and the calculator follows them:
- AIME. SSA indexes your past earnings to today’s wage levels, takes your 35 best years (zeros if you have fewer), adds them up and divides by 420 months. With «My earnings» we approximate it as your current earnings, capped at the 2026 taxable maximum of $184,500, times your years of work out of 35, divided by 12.
- PIA. The primary insurance amount is your benefit at full retirement age. It is 90% of your AIME up to the first bend point, 32% between the two bend points and 15% above the second, rounded down to the dime. The bend points are those of the year you turn 62: $1,340 and $8,077 for 2027, $1,286 and $7,749 for 2026.
- Claiming age. Before full retirement age, the benefit drops 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond. After it, it rises 2/3 of 1% a month (8% a year) until 70. The result is rounded down to the dollar.
PIA = 90% × AIME up to $1,340 + 32% × AIME from $1,340 to $8,077 + 15% × AIME above $8,077
Full retirement age is 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954, rises two months a year for 1955 to 1959, and is 67 from 1960 on. If you already turned 62, the formula uses the bend points of that year and your PIA grows with every COLA from then on; with your AIME we apply them through the 3.6% COLA of December 2026, so the figures are what you would get from January 2027. Because SSA rounds after each COLA, the result can differ by a dollar.
The estimate from earnings is rough: it assumes a flat career and puts the result in today’s wage levels. For your own figure, use the benefit at full retirement age shown in your my Social Security account. Spousal and survivor benefits, the earnings test and pensions from work not covered by Social Security are not included.
Worked example
Born in 1966, with 35 years of work at $60,000 a year in today’s wages, the estimated AIME is $60,000 ÷ 12 = $5,000. The PIA with the 2027 bend points is 90% × $1,340 + 32% × ($5,000 − $1,340) = $2,377.20. Claiming at 67, your full retirement age, you get $2,377 a month. At 62 it would be $1,664 (70%), and at 70, $2,947 (124%).
Official sources
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Primary Insurance Amount (PIA formula) · PIA formula: 90%, 32% and 15%, rounded down to $0.10
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Benefit Formula Bend Points · bend points by year of eligibility, 2005-2027
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Social Security Benefit Amounts (AIME and PIA) · AIME from the 35 best years; first COLA in the year of eligibility
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Early or Late Retirement? (reduction for early retirement) · early reduction: 5/9 of 1% and 5/12 of 1% a month; full retirement age by year of birth
- SSA: Delayed Retirement Credits · delayed retirement credits: 8% a year for those born 1943 or later, up to 70
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA history) · COLAs 2005-2026
- SSA: Social Security Credits · 40 credits; $1,890 per credit in 2026
- SSA: 2027 Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Fact Sheet · 2026 taxable maximum $184,500
- SSA: my Social Security account
Typical cases
Social Security benefit by earnings and claiming age
Estimated monthly benefit for someone born in 1966 with 35 years of work, by average yearly earnings in today's dollars and the age they claim.
| Average earnings | Claim at 62 | Claim at 67 | Claim at 70 |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $1,104 | $1,577 | $1,955 |
| $50,000 | $1,477 | $2,110 | $2,616 |
| $75,000 | $1,944 | $2,777 | $3,443 |
| $100,000 | $2,380 | $3,400 | $4,216 |
| $150,000 | $2,817 | $4,025 | $4,991 |
Save or share this table as an image Common questions
Frequently asked questions
What is my full retirement age?
It is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. It is 66 for those born from 1943 to 1954 and goes up two months for each year from 1955 (66 and 2 months) to 1959 (66 and 10 months). If you were born on January 1, use the year before.
How much less do I get if I claim Social Security at 62?
30% less for life if your full retirement age is 67. The cut is 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond, so 25% if your full retirement age is 66.
How much more do I get if I wait until 70?
8% more for each year after full retirement age, or 2/3 of 1% a month. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 70 gives you 124% of your full benefit. There are no more credits after 70.
What are the bend points for 2027?
$1,340 and $8,077. They apply to people who turn 62 in 2027: 90% of the AIME up to $1,340, 32% from there to $8,077 and 15% above it. For 2026 they are $1,286 and $7,749.
How many years of work do I need for Social Security?
You need 40 credits, which is about 10 years of work. In 2026 you earn one credit for every $1,890 of covered earnings, up to four a year. Extra credits do not raise your benefit; your 35 best years of earnings do.
Is this calculator my official Social Security estimate?
No, it is an estimate with the official formula. SSA has your full earnings record: your my Social Security account shows your estimated benefit at 62, at full retirement age and at 70. Type the full retirement age figure in the calculator to compare claiming ages.
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