How is my Social Security benefit calculated?

The SSA averages your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings into a monthly figure (AIME), then applies a progressive formula: for 2026 eligibility, 90 percent of the first $1,286, 32 percent up to $7,749, and 15 percent above. The result is your full-retirement-age benefit, adjusted up or down by when you claim.

Should I take Social Security at 62 or wait?

Waiting from 62 to 67 pays off if you live past roughly 78 and 8 months; waiting to 70 beats 67 past about 82 and 6 months. Since a healthy 62-year-old commonly lives into the 80s, waiting usually maximizes lifetime benefits, but health, cash needs, and a spouse's benefit can all justify claiming earlier.

How much does claiming early reduce my benefit?

Permanently, by 5/9 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1 percent per month beyond. For an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 means a 30 percent cut for life; claiming at 64 means 20 percent. The reduction never goes away, though later COLAs apply on top.

Is it worth waiting until 70?

Each year past full retirement age adds 8 percent, so 70 pays 24 percent more than 67, guaranteed and inflation-adjusted for life, which is a better deal than most annuities sell. The cost is funding the gap years yourself. Past 70 there is no further credit, so nobody should wait beyond it.

Why is this different from my SSA statement?

Your statement uses your actual earnings record: every year of wages, indexed for wage growth, best 35 selected, with zeros filled in for missing years. This calculator approximates that with one career-average figure, so treat it as a planning estimate and the statement at ssa.gov/myaccount as the real number.

Social Security Calculator

Estimate your Social Security benefit from career-average earnings and compare claiming at 62, 67, and 70, with the break-even ages that decide the timing.

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Monthly benefit at your claiming age

$2,745.80

Annual benefit: $32,949.60
Benefit at full retirement age (67): $2,745.80
If claimed at 62: $1,922.06
If claimed at 70: $3,404.79
Monthly earnings used in the formula: $6,250.00

Cumulative benefits received by age, per claiming choice

Break-even ages between claiming choices

Waiting choice	Waiting wins if you live past
Claiming at 67 instead of 62	About age 78 and 8 months
Claiming at 70 instead of 67	About age 82 and 6 months
Claiming at 70 instead of 62	About age 80 and 4 months

Quick answer: With the example inputs this page loads by default, the headline result (Monthly benefit at your claiming age) comes to $2,745.80. Estimate your Social Security benefit from career-average earnings and compare claiming at 62, 67, and 70, with the break-even ages that decide the timing. Change any input above and every figure updates instantly in your browser.

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Fact-check: results on this page are verified against an independently coded reference oracle that covers all 106 calculators on this site. See how we verify .

Your Social Security benefit comes from a progressive formula: 90 percent of your first $1,286 of career-average monthly earnings, 32 percent up to $7,749, and 15 percent above that (the 2026 bend points), paid in full at age 67. Claiming at 62 cuts the check 30 percent; waiting to 70 raises it 24 percent. This calculator estimates all three and the break-even ages between them.

What this result means

The claiming decision is a longevity bet with known break-evens: waiting from 62 to 67 pays off if you live past about 78 and 8 months, and waiting to 70 beats 67 past about 82 and 6 months, both within typical life expectancy for someone already in their 60s, which is why waiting usually wins for people in good health who can afford the gap years. Claim earlier when health or cash flow argue for it, or when a lower-earning spouse's timing changes the household math. This is a simplified estimate; your SSA statement at ssa.gov/myaccount has your real earnings record. Not advice.

Assumptions

The benefit formula uses the 2026 bend points ($1,286 and $7,749, for workers first eligible in 2026) with the statutory 90/32/15 percentages, and rounds the result down to the dime as the SSA does. Your career-average annual earnings divided by 12 stands in for the AIME, which the SSA computes precisely from your top 35 years of wage-indexed earnings; the input is capped at the 2026 taxable maximum ($184,500 a year).
Full retirement age is modeled as 67, correct for anyone born in 1960 or later. Earlier claiming reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1 percent per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1 percent per month beyond (30 percent total at 62); delay adds 2/3 of 1 percent per month to age 70 (24 percent total). These adjustments are permanent.
The break-even ages and cumulative chart compare nominal dollars with no cost-of-living adjustments, investment returns on early benefits, or discounting. COLAs apply equally to all claiming ages, so they move the break-evens only modestly; investing early benefits shifts them later.
Not modeled: your actual earnings record and its wage indexing (fewer than 35 working years lowers the real AIME), the earnings test if you work while claiming before FRA, spousal and survivor benefits, taxation of benefits, WEP/GPO-style offsets, and Medicare premium interactions. The SSA's own estimate at ssa.gov/myaccount uses your real record and is the number to plan on.
This is a simplified educational estimate of the retired-worker benefit only, not a benefits determination or claiming advice.

Key terms

Definitions for the terms this calculator uses, in our finance glossary .

How it works

Three steps stand between your earnings and a Social Security check, and the calculator models each with stated simplifications.

1. Career-average earnings. The SSA averages your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings into the AIME (average indexed monthly earnings). This calculator approximates it as your career-average annual earnings divided by 12, capped at the 2026 taxable maximum ($184,500).

2. The PIA formula. For workers first eligible in 2026, the primary insurance amount is 90 percent of the first $1,286 of AIME, plus 32 percent of the amount between $1,286 and $7,749, plus 15 percent above that, rounded down to the dime. The 90/32/15 percentages are fixed by law; the bend points are wage-indexed annually (SSA). The tilt toward the first dollars is what makes the program progressive.

3. Claiming age. The PIA is the benefit at full retirement age, 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming earlier cuts it by 5/9 of 1 percent per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1 percent per month beyond, 30 percent at 62. Each month of delay past FRA adds 2/3 of 1 percent up to age 70, 24 percent total. The break-even table divides the foregone early benefits by the higher later check: waiting from 62 to 67 pays off past about age 78 and 8 months, and 70 beats 67 past about 82 and 6 months, in nominal dollars.

Worked example

Career-average earnings of $75,000 a year (AIME $6,250), claiming at 67.

PIA: 90% x $1,286 ($1,157.40) + 32% x $4,964 ($1,588.48) = $2,745.88, floored to $2,745.80 a month.
At 62: 70% = $1,922.06. At 70: 124% = $3,404.79.

Scope and limitations

An honest simplification: the real AIME comes from your indexed earnings record (fewer than 35 working years pulls it down), and the SSA’s estimate at ssa.gov/myaccount uses that record. Not modeled: COLAs (they apply to all claiming ages, shifting break-evens only modestly), the earnings test before FRA, spousal and survivor benefits, benefit taxation, and investment returns on early benefits. Retired-worker benefit only. This is an educational estimate, not a benefits determination or claiming advice.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

How is my Social Security benefit calculated?: The SSA averages your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings into a monthly figure (AIME), then applies a progressive formula: for 2026 eligibility, 90 percent of the first $1,286, 32 percent up to $7,749, and 15 percent above. The result is your full-retirement-age benefit, adjusted up or down by when you claim.
Should I take Social Security at 62 or wait?: Waiting from 62 to 67 pays off if you live past roughly 78 and 8 months; waiting to 70 beats 67 past about 82 and 6 months. Since a healthy 62-year-old commonly lives into the 80s, waiting usually maximizes lifetime benefits, but health, cash needs, and a spouse's benefit can all justify claiming earlier.
How much does claiming early reduce my benefit?: Permanently, by 5/9 of 1 percent for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1 percent per month beyond. For an FRA of 67, claiming at 62 means a 30 percent cut for life; claiming at 64 means 20 percent. The reduction never goes away, though later COLAs apply on top.
Is it worth waiting until 70?: Each year past full retirement age adds 8 percent, so 70 pays 24 percent more than 67, guaranteed and inflation-adjusted for life, which is a better deal than most annuities sell. The cost is funding the gap years yourself. Past 70 there is no further credit, so nobody should wait beyond it.
Why is this different from my SSA statement?: Your statement uses your actual earnings record: every year of wages, indexed for wage growth, best 35 selected, with zeros filled in for missing years. This calculator approximates that with one career-average figure, so treat it as a planning estimate and the statement at ssa.gov/myaccount as the real number.

Related calculators

Learn how this works

New to this topic? Our companion guide explains it in plain language: 2026 Social Security Wage Base: The $184,500 Line That Changes Your Paycheck

By Sam Sage Last reviewed July 2026.