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Social Security claiming age calculator

See how your monthly benefit changes if you claim at 62, 67, 70 or any year between — with lifetime totals and breakeven ages, using the rules the Social Security Administration publishes.

Born on January 1? SSA uses the previous year, so enter that year.

Your Social Security Statement, in your my Social Security account (opens in a new tab), estimates your benefit at different ages. Use the one for full retirement age.

85

Totals count benefits received up to this birthday (75–95).

Your full retirement age

67

Born 1965

Monthly at 62

$1,400

70.0% of full

Monthly at 67

$2,000

100% — full benefit

Monthly at 70

$2,480

124.0% of full

Breakeven: 62 vs 67

Age 78 and 8 months

When the 67 claim’s running total catches up with the 62 claim’s

Breakeven: 67 vs 70

Age 82 and 6 months

When the 70 claim’s running total catches up with the 67 claim’s

Estimated benefit by claim age, in today’s dollars. Totals are benefits received from the claim age up to age 85.
Claim ageShare of full benefitMonthlyTotal by age 85
6270.0%$1,400$386,400
6375.0%$1,500$396,000
6480.0%$1,600$403,200
6586.7%$1,733$416,000
6693.3%$1,867$425,600
67(full retirement age)100.0%$2,000$432,000
68108.0%$2,160$440,640
69116.0%$2,320$445,440
70124.0%$2,480$446,400

All figures are estimates in today’s dollars, before any tax, with no cost-of-living adjustment projected. They show your own retirement benefit only.

The math runs entirely in your browser — the numbers you enter are never sent to our servers. They’re saved only on this device so they’re still here when you come back.

How this Social Security calculator works

Full retirement age depends on your birth year

Your full retirement age is when you can get your full, unreduced retirement benefit. SSA sets it by birth year: 66 for people born 1943–1954, then two months later for each year from 1955 (66 and 2 months) to 1959 (66 and 10 months), and 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. SSA treats a January 1 birthday as the previous year. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)

How early reduction and delayed credits work

Claiming before full retirement age

reduction = 5/9% × first 36 months early + 5/12% × each month beyond

SSA reduces the benefit 5/9 of 1% for each month before full retirement age, up to 36 months, and a further 5/12 of 1% for each additional month. Sixty months early — age 62 with a full retirement age of 67 — works out to a 30% reduction. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)

Claiming after full retirement age

increase = 2/3% × each month past full retirement age, up to 70

For people born in 1943 or later, SSA adds delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% a month — 8% a year — and the increase stops at age 70. With a full retirement age of 67, that makes the age-70 benefit 124% of the full amount. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)

The calculator applies both formulas month by month to your full retirement age, then multiplies by the benefit you enter. Its percentages match SSA’s published table by birth year (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25).

An example with real numbers

Someone born in 1965 (full retirement age 67) whose benefit at full retirement age is $1,000 a month:

Claim at 62

$700

70% of full

Claim at 67

$1,000

100% — full benefit

Claim at 70

$1,240

124% of full

Claiming at 67 instead of 62 gives up 60 checks of $700 ($42,000) but adds $300 a month afterwards. The later claim’s running total catches up at age 78 and 8 months. Between 67 and 70, the age-70 claim catches up at age 82 and 6 months.

What breakeven does and doesn’t tell you

A breakeven age answers one narrow question: if you live past it, the later claim will have paid more in total dollars; if you don’t, the earlier claim will have. It says nothing about how long you will live, and it is worked out in today’s dollars with no interest or investment return on money received earlier, and no taxes.

Because the benefit changes by a fixed percentage per month, the breakeven age does not depend on the size of your benefit — only on your full retirement age and the two claim ages compared.

Other factors people weigh

  • Health and longevity. Many people consider their own health and family history. SSA offers a life expectancy calculator (opens in a new tab) that shows the average number of additional years for a given sex and date of birth.
  • A spouse’s benefit. SSA says a spouse’s benefit can be as much as half of the worker’s full-retirement-age benefit, and is reduced when started early (25/36 of 1% a month for the first 36 months, then 5/12 of 1%). If the spouse’s own retirement benefit is higher, SSA pays that instead. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)
  • Survivor benefits. SSA says a surviving spouse’s payments start at 71.5% of the deceased spouse’s benefit and can reach 100% at the survivor’s full retirement age (between 66 and 67). Because that payment is a share of the deceased spouse’s benefit, some couples look at the higher earner’s claim age with the survivor in mind. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)
  • Still working. If you are younger than full retirement age and earn more than a yearly limit, SSA may withhold some benefits. For 2026 SSA lists that limit as $24,480, deducting $1 for every $2 above it; a different limit applies in the year you reach full retirement age, and there is no limit from the month you reach it. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)
  • Taxes. SSA says you pay federal income tax on your benefits if your combined income passes set thresholds, and you can have tax withheld from your payment. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)
  • Cost-of-living adjustments. SSA adjusts benefits with a COLA based on the rise in the CPI-W price index; if there is no increase, there is no COLA. (SSA (opens in a new tab), verified 2026-09-25)

Assumptions and limits

  • Born 1943 or later. Earlier birth years have a different full retirement age and credit rate, so they are not supported.
  • Your own retirement benefit only. Spouse and survivor benefits are described above but not calculated.
  • Today’s dollars. No cost-of-living adjustment is projected, and no tax is subtracted.
  • Whole claim ages plus your exact full retirement age. SSA works in months; you must be 62 for the entire month to be paid, so most people’s first possible month is 62 and 1 month. The age-62 row shows SSA’s published age-62 figure.
  • Birth month and day are not asked for. Ages are counted from your birthday month; SSA figures a 1st-of-the-month birthday as if it fell in the previous month, which can shift the timing by a month.
  • Each month’s benefit is counted in the month it is for. SSA generally pays it the following month, which would move each total and breakeven about one month later.
  • Delayed credits are applied in full from the claim month. SSA applies some credits earned in the year you start in the following January.
  • Figures are unrounded percentages of the amount you enter. SSA applies its own rounding, and its percentages are approximate for the same reason.

Frequently asked questions

What is my full retirement age?

It depends on the year you were born. According to the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov), it is 66 for people born 1943 through 1954, rises by two months per birth year from 1955 to 1959, and is 67 for people born in 1960 or later. SSA treats a January 1 birthday as the previous year.

How much smaller is Social Security at 62?

SSA reduces a retirement benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each month before full retirement age, up to 36 months, and by 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. At 62 the reduction is 30% when full retirement age is 67 and 25% when it is 66, per SSA’s published tables.

How much bigger is Social Security at 70?

For people born in 1943 or later, SSA adds delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% for each month you wait past full retirement age, which is 8% a year. SSA says the increase stops at age 70, so waiting past 70 does not raise the benefit further. With a full retirement age of 67, that makes the age-70 benefit 124% of the full amount.

What is the Social Security breakeven age?

It is the age at which the total received from a later claim catches up with the total from an earlier one. The earlier claim pays smaller checks for more months; the later claim pays larger checks for fewer. This calculator finds that age month by month, using the reduction and credit rules SSA publishes, in today’s dollars.

Where do I find my benefit at full retirement age?

SSA says a personal my Social Security account lets you get your Social Security Statement and estimate the benefits you could receive at different ages. Enter the estimate shown for your full retirement age.

Does this include cost-of-living adjustments?

No. Every figure here is in today’s dollars. SSA applies a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) based on the rise in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), and says that if there is no increase there is no COLA. Because the future COLA is unknown, this calculator leaves it out.

Sources

Estimates for education, not financial advice.

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Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational and educational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the values you enter. Consult a qualified financial professional before making financial decisions.