Social Security Calculator
Your statement, and when you plan to file
Your result will appear here
Fill in the fields on the left and this updates as you type.
Know what this estimate is based on
- Jurisdiction
- General mathematical model
- Scope and limitations
- Scenario model, not a forecast. Returns, volatility, inflation, fees, and taxes are assumptions and actual investment outcomes can be lower or negative.
- Source links checked
- Jul 30, 2026
Built and regression-tested by Smart Tools Lab. It has not been individually reviewed by a licensed financial, tax, or legal professional.
How to use
- 01
Enter your benefit at full retirement age — the middle of the three figures on your Social Security statement.
- 02
Enter the age you plan to claim and the age you expect to live to.
- 03
Leave the rule fields alone unless yours differ: full retirement age 67, the early-claim reductions, and the 8% a year for waiting.
- 04
Read the monthly benefit at your claim age against 62, full retirement age and 70, and the ages at which waiting overtakes claiming early.
Formula
Claiming early: benefit × (1 − 0.5556% × the first 36 months early − 0.4167% × any further months). Claiming late: benefit × (1 + 8% × the years waited past full retirement age, stopping at 70). Break-even = the payments given up ÷ the extra monthly amount.
Example
A $2,400 benefit at a full retirement age of 67 becomes $1,680 at 62 — a 30% cut — and $2,976 at 70. Claiming at 62 banks $100,800 by 67, and the $720-a-month gap closes that in 140 months, so waiting to 67 pulls ahead at about 78 years and 8 months. Waiting from 67 to 70 pays back at about 82 and a half.
Definitions
- Full retirement age
- The age at which your benefit is paid in full — 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
- Primary insurance amount
- The benefit at full retirement age, computed by the SSA from 35 years of indexed earnings.
- Delayed retirement credit
- 8% a year for each year you wait past full retirement age, ending at 70.
Good to know
One benefit, three very different amounts
Social Security computes a single figure — the primary insurance amount, drawn from your 35 highest indexed earning years — and then adjusts it for when you claim. Claim before full retirement age and it is cut permanently; claim after and it is raised permanently. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67, and the range is wide: claiming at 62 takes 30% off, and waiting to 70 adds 24%, so the same worker can collect $1,680, $2,400 or $2,976 a month from the identical earnings record. The decision is made once and cannot be revisited after twelve months, which makes it one of the largest irreversible financial choices most Americans make.
How the adjustment is actually calculated
The reduction is not a flat percentage per year, and the two-part rule catches people out. Benefits fall by five-ninths of 1% — about 0.5556% — for each of the first 36 months you claim before full retirement age, then by five-twelfths of 1%, about 0.4167%, for every month beyond that. Sixty months early therefore costs 20% plus 10%, a 30% cut. Going the other way, delayed retirement credits add 8% a year, accruing monthly, and they stop dead at 70: waiting past your seventieth birthday earns nothing and simply forgoes payments. A calculator that keeps paying 8% a year at 75 is inventing money, which is why this one caps the credit.
Break-even, and what it leaves out
The arithmetic of waiting is a race between a head start and a bigger payment. Claiming at 62 banks five years of cheques before full retirement age arrives; on a $2,400 benefit that is $100,800, against which the $720-a-month difference closes the gap in about 140 months — roughly age 78 and a half. Waiting from 67 to 70 pays back at about 82. But break-even is a mortality bet, and it is only half the argument. The larger benefit is inflation-adjusted and paid for life, so waiting is really insurance against living a long time and running short — a risk your portfolio cannot hedge. It also raises the survivor benefit a spouse inherits, which is often the strongest single reason for the higher earner in a couple to wait.
What this page does not do
It does not estimate your benefit from an earnings history — no tool outside the Social Security Administration can, because the calculation runs on 35 years of indexed wages held by the SSA. Start from the figure on your statement, which shows estimates at 62, at full retirement age and at 70, and note that those estimates assume you keep earning at your current rate until you claim. Three other rules are outside this arithmetic and can matter more than the claim age: the earnings test can temporarily withhold benefits if you work before full retirement age, up to 85% of benefits can be taxable depending on other income, and spousal and survivor benefits follow their own schedules with their own optimal timing.
Frequently asked questions
Does this estimate my benefit from my earnings history?
No, and no calculator outside the Social Security Administration can. Your primary insurance amount comes from 35 years of indexed earnings. This page starts from the figure the SSA already computed for you and answers the question the statement does not: what claiming at a different age is worth over a lifetime.
How much does claiming early actually cost?
Against a full retirement age of 67, benefits fall by five-ninths of 1% for each of the first 36 months early and five-twelfths of 1% for each month beyond that. Claiming at 62 is therefore a 30% cut — permanently, not until 67.
Is waiting past 70 worth anything?
No. Delayed retirement credits stop accruing at 70, so waiting longer means giving up payments for nothing. This page caps the credit at 70 for that reason; a calculator that keeps paying 8% a year at 75 is inventing money.
So should I wait?
The break-even ages tell you when waiting pays back the payments you gave up, but they are not the whole decision. Waiting also buys a larger inflation-adjusted, guaranteed income for a long life, and a larger survivor benefit for a spouse. Claiming early makes sense if you need the income, or if your health suggests a shorter horizon.
What about working while claiming, or a spouse's benefit?
Neither is modeled here. Earnings before full retirement age can withhold benefits temporarily under the earnings test, and spousal and survivor benefits follow their own rules. Both change the answer enough to be worth their own conversation with the SSA.