Social Security Calculator
Estimate your monthly Social Security benefit and see exactly how claiming at 62, your full retirement age, or 70 changes it — for the rest of your life.
The single biggest lever is when you claim: in our example, age 70 pays about $3,362/mo versus $1,898 at 62 — for life.
67
full retirement age for someone born in 1975 — SSA rules
$2,711
estimated full monthly benefit on a $75k steady income (SSA 2025 formula)
+77%
more per month claiming at 70 vs 62 — for the rest of your life
When you claim matters more than almost anything
Your benefit is set by a formula — but the claiming age is yours to choose, and it's permanent.
Your birth year sets the baseline
Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. That's the age at which you receive 100% of your calculated benefit — the Primary Insurance Amount. Claiming earlier or later adjusts it by fixed, permanent percentages.
Claiming early costs you for life
Take benefits at 62 and you lock in about 70% of your full amount — around $1,898/mo versus $2,711 at FRA in our example. It can still be the right call if you need the income or expect a shorter lifespan, but the reduction never goes away.
Delaying is a guaranteed 8%/yr
Between FRA and 70, every year you wait adds 8% in delayed retirement credits — a guaranteed, inflation-protected raise that's hard to beat elsewhere. Waiting to 70 yields roughly $3,362/mo in the example, the maximum possible.
How the Social Security Calculator Works
Formula
AIME ≈ (your indexed earnings, capped at $176,100) ÷ 12
PIA (full benefit) = 90% × first $1,226
+ 32% × ($1,226 to $7,391)
+ 15% × (above $7,391)
Claim before FRA: −5/9 of 1%/mo (first 36 mo), then −5/12 of 1%/mo
Claim after FRA: +2/3 of 1%/mo (8%/yr) up to age 70Enter your birth year
It determines your full retirement age (67 for 1960+).
Enter your income
A steady-career estimate, capped at the $176,100 taxable wage base.
Choose a claiming age
Anywhere from 62 (earliest) to 70 (maximum).
See your estimate
Your monthly benefit, and the full 62–70 comparison.
Verify officially
Confirm with your real earnings record at ssa.gov/myaccount.
Social Security replaces a share of your pre-retirement income using a progressive formula: lower earnings are replaced at 90%, middle earnings at 32%, and higher earnings at 15% (SSA 2025 bend points). Because of the caps and bend points, the program intentionally replaces more income for lower earners.
The claiming-age decision is the part you control. Claiming at 62 can make sense if you need the money or have health concerns; delaying to 70 maximizes a guaranteed, inflation-adjusted income stream. There's no universally correct answer — but seeing the numbers side by side makes the trade-off clear.