Bureau of Wealth

Social Security Calculator

By the Bureau of Wealth team Updated

This calculator is general information, not financial advice. Check your own figures with the provider or a qualified adviser before acting on them.

Enter your birth year and your benefit at full retirement age, or a rough earnings figure, to see your monthly Social Security benefit at any claiming age from 62 to 70.

Using 2026 rates rates checked 14 September 2026

Born on January 1? Use the year before.

Start from

Shown in your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount.

In today’s dollars. The estimate assumes 35 years at this level.

Check the highlighted fields to see your results.

What this calculator assumes

  • Everything is in today's dollars. Cost-of-living adjustments, such as the 2.8% increase that applied from January 2026, are not added.
  • Your full retirement age comes from SSA's table by birth year. If you were born on January 1, use the year before.
  • Claiming early reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% for each month after that. Waiting adds 2/3 of 1% a month, 8% a year, until age 70.
  • The rough estimate treats your average yearly earnings as 35 years of earnings in today's dollars and applies the 2026 benefit formula. Real benefits use your own earnings record, indexed to wage growth, and the formula for the year you turn 62. Earnings above the maximum taxable amount, $184,500 in 2026, do not count, so the estimate caps earnings at that amount.
  • Spousal and survivor benefits, the earnings test for working while claiming, Medicare premiums and income tax on benefits are not included.
  • The totals by age simply add up monthly benefits with no interest, inflation or chance of dying earlier.

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How the benefit is worked out

Social Security starts from your primary insurance amount, the benefit you would get if you claimed at your full retirement age. You can enter that figure from your Social Security Statement, or let the calculator make a rough estimate from your average earnings.

For the estimate, the calculator divides your yearly earnings by 12 to get average monthly earnings and applies SSA's 2026 formula: 90% of the first $1,286, plus 32% of the amount between $1,286 and $7,749, plus 15% of anything above $7,749. SSA rounds the result down to the next lower 10 cents. The calculator then looks up your full retirement age, reduces or increases the benefit for the age you choose, and rounds down to the whole dollar, as SSA does with monthly payments.

A worked example

You were born in 1968, so your full retirement age is 67, and your statement shows $2,000 a month at that age. Claim at 67 and you get $2,000. Claim at 62, 60 months early, and the benefit is cut by 30% to $1,400. Claim at 64 and you get $1,600. Wait until 70 and delayed credits add 24%, for $2,480 a month.

Using the rough estimate instead, average earnings of $60,000 give average monthly earnings of $5,000. The formula gives $1,157.40 on the first $1,286 and $1,188.48 on the next $3,714, which is $2,345.88, rounded down to $2,345.80. At 67 that pays $2,345 a month, and at 62 it pays $1,642.

Full retirement age and claiming age

Full retirement age is 66 for people born from 1943 to 1954, rises by 2 months for each birth year from 1955 to 1959, and is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Someone born in 1958 has a full retirement age of 66 and 8 months, so claiming at 62 cuts their benefit by 28.33% rather than 30%.

The reduction for claiming early lasts for life, and so does the increase for waiting. Delayed credits stop at 70, so there is no gain from waiting longer.

Comparing totals by age

A higher monthly benefit takes time to make up for the payments you skip while waiting. In the example above, the totals received by age 85 are $386,400 if you claim at 62, $432,000 at 67 and $446,400 at 70. By age 80 the order changes: claiming at 66 gives the most, $313,488, and claiming at 70 gives $297,600. Try a few planning ages to see where the lines cross for you.

Health, family history, whether you are still working and benefits for a spouse can all matter more than the break-even age. For a decision this permanent, SSA and a qualified adviser can help.

Get your real figures

Your Social Security Statement, available through a my Social Security account at ssa.gov, shows your earnings history and personal benefit estimates at a range of claiming ages. Check the earnings record for mistakes, because missing years lower your benefit. Then enter the full retirement age figure here.

To see how your own savings could add to Social Security, try the retirement savings calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is my full retirement age?

It is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later, 66 if you were born from 1943 to 1954, and between the two for birth years 1955 to 1959. If you were born on January 1, use the previous year.

How much smaller is my benefit if I claim at 62?

With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 cuts your benefit by 30% for life. The cut is smaller if your full retirement age is earlier, for example 28.33% for someone born in 1958.

How much more do I get by waiting until 70?

For people born in 1943 or later, delayed retirement credits add 8% for each year you wait past full retirement age, up to age 70. With a full retirement age of 67, that is 24% more a month.

Why is my rough estimate different from my statement?

SSA uses your highest 35 years of earnings, each indexed to wage growth, and the formula for the year you turn 62. The estimate here assumes 35 equal years in today's dollars with the 2026 formula, so your statement is the better figure.

Do Social Security benefits go up with inflation?

Yes, through cost-of-living adjustments. Benefits rose by 2.8% starting with the December 2025 benefits payable in January 2026. This calculator leaves them out and shows everything in today's dollars.

Sources

Figures come from institutions millions of people rely on. How we keep calculators accurate.