Social Security Calculator
Project your estimated monthly Social Security retirement benefits based on claiming age (62 to 70), Full Retirement Age (FRA), and delayed retirement credits.
Your PIA is on your Social Security statement at ssa.gov/myaccount. Spousal and survivor benefits, the earnings test and cost-of-living adjustments are not modelled.
Your Benefit
Every claiming age
| Age | % of PIA | Monthly | Total by age 85 |
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How Social Security Retirement Benefits Are Calculated
Your Social Security benefit begins with your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — the monthly payout you qualify for at your Full Retirement Age (FRA). For anyone born in 1960 or later, Full Retirement Age is 67.
Claiming early permanently slashes your check. If you file at age 62, your benefit is reduced by 30% for life compared to waiting until 67. Conversely, every year you delay claiming past your FRA earns you Delayed Retirement Credits of 8% per year up to age 70. Waiting until age 70 yields a permanent 24% boost above your baseline PIA.
In addition to your base benefit, Social Security payouts receive annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA) tied to inflation (CPI-W). When coordinating Social Security with withdrawals from your 401(k) or Roth IRA, delaying your claim often functions as a guaranteed 8% government-backed return on longevity insurance.
Frequently asked questions
How does claim age affect Social Security benefits?
Claiming early at age 62 reduces monthly benefits by ~30%, while delaying claim until age 70 increases monthly benefits by ~24% above full retirement age (67).
When should I claim Social Security?
Full retirement age is 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Claiming at 62 permanently reduces the benefit by up to 30%; delaying past FRA earns delayed retirement credits of about 8% a year until 70. Break-even is usually in the late seventies or early eighties, so the decision hinges on health, other income and whether a spouse depends on survivor benefits.
How is my benefit calculated?
From your highest 35 years of indexed earnings, averaged monthly (the AIME), then run through a progressive bend-point formula to produce the primary insurance amount. Fewer than 35 years of earnings means zeros are averaged in, which is why a few extra working years can raise the benefit noticeably.
Will Social Security still be there?
Trustee projections have the combined trust funds able to pay full benefits into the mid-2030s, after which incoming payroll taxes would still cover roughly three quarters of scheduled benefits absent legislative change. Planning on a reduced rather than zero benefit is the prudent middle assumption - and official estimates are updated annually.