Social Security Benefits Estimator

You can start collecting Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62. However, claiming early permanently reduces your benefit. If your Full Retirement Age (FRA) is 67, claiming at 62 reduces your benefit by 30%, leaving you with just 70% of your full benefit. Waiting until age 70 increases your benefit to 124% of your FRA amount through delayed retirement credits. There is no advantage to waiting past age 70.

Full Retirement Age is the age at which you receive 100% of your Social Security benefit based on your earnings record. For those born between 1943 and 1954, FRA is 66. It gradually increases by two months per birth year for those born 1955–1959. For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67. Claiming before FRA reduces your benefit; claiming after FRA increases it via delayed retirement credits.

The reduction depends on how many months early you claim relative to your FRA. The formula is: 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before FRA, plus 5/12 of 1% per month for any additional months beyond that. For someone with an FRA of 67 who claims at 62 (60 months early), the reduction is 30% — leaving them with 70% of their full benefit. For an FRA of 66, claiming at 62 reduces the benefit by 25%.

Delayed retirement credits increase your Social Security benefit by 8% for each year you wait beyond your Full Retirement Age, up to age 70. For example, if your FRA is 67 and you wait until 70, your benefit grows by 24% (8% × 3 years). These credits stop accruing at age 70, so there is no financial benefit to delaying past that age. The credits apply to your own retirement benefit but not to spousal or survivor benefits.

The breakeven age is the point at which cumulative lifetime benefits from a later claiming age surpass those from an earlier start. For claiming at 62 versus 70, the breakeven age is roughly 80 to 81, depending on your FRA and benefit amount. If you expect to live past the breakeven age, waiting typically pays off. If you have health concerns or a shorter life expectancy, claiming earlier may result in higher total lifetime benefits. These calculations do not account for investment returns on early benefits.

A spouse can receive up to 50% of the worker's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) — their full FRA benefit — as a spousal benefit. Spousal benefits are reduced if claimed before the spouse's own FRA, but unlike worker benefits, they do not increase with delayed retirement credits past FRA. To claim spousal benefits, the worker must have already filed for their own benefit. A divorced spouse can claim on an ex-spouse's record if the marriage lasted at least 10 years.

Up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may be subject to federal income tax, depending on your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security benefits). For single filers: if combined income is between $25,000 and $34,000, up to 50% of benefits may be taxable; above $34,000, up to 85% may be taxable. For married filing jointly: thresholds are $32,000 to $44,000 for 50%, and above $44,000 for 85%. These thresholds are not indexed for inflation. Thirteen states also tax Social Security benefits.

You can find your estimated Social Security benefit by creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount. Once logged in, you can view your Social Security Statement, which shows your earnings history and projected benefit amounts at ages 62, FRA, and 70. The SSA also mails paper statements to workers age 60 and older who are not yet receiving benefits. Your benefit estimate is based on your actual earnings record and is the most accurate input for any claiming strategy calculator.

If you claim Social Security before your Full Retirement Age and continue working, the earnings test may temporarily reduce your benefits. In 2026, if you are under FRA for the full year, $1 in benefits is withheld for every $2 you earn above $24,480. In the year you reach FRA, the limit rises to $65,160 and only $1 is withheld for every $3 over the limit. After reaching FRA, there is no earnings test. Importantly, withheld benefits are not lost — SSA recalculates and increases your monthly benefit after FRA to credit you for the months when benefits were withheld.

When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse receives the higher of their own benefit or the deceased spouse's benefit — not both. This means delaying your claim to age 70 not only increases your own monthly benefit but also increases the survivor benefit your spouse would receive. For married couples, this makes delaying especially valuable as a form of longevity insurance: even if the higher earner dies early, the surviving spouse benefits from the larger monthly payment for the rest of their life.