π΄ Social Security Benefits Estimator
Your estimated monthly benefit at 62, 67, and 70, plus the lifetime value of each choice.
At Full Retirement Age (FRA 67)
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice. ssa.gov gives official estimates from your earnings record.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your average annual indexed earnings, or use your current salary as a rough proxy. The calculator converts it to average indexed monthly earnings (AIME), runs it through the official PIA bend-point formula, and shows your estimated monthly benefit at 62 (early), 67 (full retirement age), and 70 (delayed), plus the lifetime value of each choice if you live to 85.
Enter your Average Annual Indexed Earnings. Your current salary is a fine stand-in for planning purposes.
Compare the three monthly amounts: the age-62 benefit (about 30 percent reduced), the age-67 full benefit, and the age-70 benefit with delayed credits.
Look at the lifetime value rows, which total up benefits through age 85. Notice how the "best" age depends on how long you live.
Get your official number at ssa.gov with a real account, since it uses your actual 35 highest-earning years, not an estimate.
The PIA Formula, in Plain English
Your Primary Insurance Amount, or PIA, is your full benefit at full retirement age. Social Security first computes your AIME: the average of your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for wage inflation. Then the bend-point formula applies. The bend points make the system progressive: the first $1,226 of monthly earnings is replaced at 90 percent, the next chunk up to $7,391 at 32 percent, and anything above at 15 percent. A low earner might see 50 percent of earnings replaced; a maximum earner sees closer to 25 percent.
Claiming early or late just scales the PIA. At 62 with an FRA of 67, the benefit is cut by 5/9 percent per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 percent per month after that, totaling 30 percent. Every year you delay past 67 adds 8 percent, up to 24 percent at 70. There is no advantage to waiting past 70, so 70 is the latest claiming age that makes sense.
Early vs Delayed: The Trade-Off
Claiming at 62 gives you five extra years of checks, but each one is permanently smaller. Delaying to 70 gives you the biggest check but five fewer years of collecting. The break-even point, where the bigger delayed check finally overtakes the early head start, usually lands in the late 70s to early 80s.
Money is not the only variable. Claiming early makes sense if you are in poor health, need the income, or lost a job late in your career. Delaying makes sense if you are healthy, still working, or married and want to maximize the survivor benefit your spouse would receive, since a survivor gets up to 100 percent of your benefit. Spouses can also claim up to 50 percent of your PIA on your record, reduced if they claim before their own full retirement age.
Worked Example
Average annual indexed earnings of $80,000. AIME = 80,000 / 12 = $6,667. PIA = 90 percent of $1,226 ($1,103.40) + 32 percent of ($6,667 - $1,226 = $5,441) ($1,741.12) = $2,844.52 per month at age 67.
At 62: $2,844.52 x 0.70 = about $1,991 per month. At 70: $2,844.52 x 1.24 = about $3,527 per month. Over a lifetime to age 85, claiming at 62 pays roughly $549,000, at 67 roughly $614,000, and at 70 roughly $635,000. The longer you expect to live, the more the math favors waiting, and every one of these numbers is before taxes and the annual cost-of-living adjustments that actual benefits receive.
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice. This is a simplified estimate using 2025 bend points. Your official benefit at ssa.gov uses your real earnings history.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is full retirement age (FRA)?
Full retirement age is the age when you get 100 percent of your earned benefit, called your PIA. For anyone born in 1960 or later it is 67; for earlier birth years it ranges from 65 to 66 plus some months. Claiming before FRA reduces the monthly check permanently, and delaying past FRA earns delayed retirement credits up to age 70.
How much less do I get if I claim at 62?
For someone with a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 permanently reduces the monthly benefit by about 30 percent. The reduction is 5/9 of one percent per month for the first 36 months early, then 5/12 of one percent per month for months 37 through 60. That reduction lasts for life, and it also lowers any spousal benefit based on your record.
Is it better to delay Social Security to 70?
Delaying from 67 to 70 adds 8 percent per year in delayed retirement credits, so the age-70 check is about 24 percent bigger than at FRA, or roughly 77 percent bigger than at 62. Delaying usually wins if you live past your late 70s or early 80s, and the bigger check also means a bigger survivor benefit for your spouse. But it only works if you have other income to live on while you wait.
What are bend points?
Bend points are the thresholds in the Social Security formula where each extra dollar of average earnings buys you less benefit: 90 cents on the first slice, 32 cents on the middle slice, and 15 cents on the top slice. This design makes the system progressive, replacing a much higher percentage of low earners' income than high earners'. The bend points for 2025 are about $1,226 and $7,391 of average indexed monthly earnings.
Can my spouse collect on my record?
Yes. A spouse can receive up to 50 percent of your full retirement age benefit (your PIA) if they claim at their own full retirement age, reduced if they claim earlier. A surviving spouse can receive up to 100 percent of your benefit. This estimator covers the worker benefit only; spousal and survivor rules have their own reduction schedules worth checking at ssa.gov.
Is this estimator official?
No. This is a simplified planning estimate using the 2025 bend points and standard reduction and credit percentages. Your official estimate, based on your actual lifetime earnings record, is available by creating an account at ssa.gov, which is the only source that counts for your real benefit.