A Social Security calculator that shows the working
This Social Security calculator estimates your monthly retirement benefit at every claiming age from 62 to 70 and, if you are married, what your spouse could receive. Start from your average yearly earnings, from your AIME (average indexed monthly earnings) if you know it, or from the benefit at full retirement age printed on your Social Security statement.
It applies the formula the Social Security Administration uses: the primary insurance amount (PIA) from the bend points for the year you turn 62, then the reduction for claiming early or the delayed credits for waiting. Everything runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere — no phone number, no sign-up. The rules were checked on 24 October 2026; the result is an estimate, not financial advice.
How to use the Social Security Calculator (Benefit Estimator by Age)
- Enter your birth year (if you were born on 1 January, enter the previous year — Social Security treats you as born the year before).
- Choose how to estimate: average yearly earnings in today’s dollars, your AIME, or the full-retirement-age benefit from your statement.
- Pick the age at which you plan to claim, in years and months.
- Tick the spouse box to estimate a spousal benefit and enter your spouse’s own benefit at full retirement age.
- Read the benefit table, the working and the spousal panel, and copy the estimate if you want to keep it.
Social Security Calculator (Benefit Estimator by Age) features
Benefits by age
A table of monthly and yearly benefits for claiming at 62, 63 … 70 and at your exact full retirement age.
Three ways in
Average earnings, AIME or your statement’s PIA — use whichever you have.
Current bend points
The 2025, 2026 and 2027 bend points, matched to the year you first become eligible.
Spousal estimate
Up to 50% of your PIA, minus your spouse’s own benefit, reduced if they claim early.
Shows the maths
Every step — AIME, the 90/32/15 formula, the reduction or credit — is written out.
How the benefit is worked out
Social Security indexes your earnings to wage growth, keeps your best 35 years, adds them up and divides by 420 months: that is your AIME. Missing years count as zero, which is why fewer than 35 years of work lowers the result. The PIA is 90% of AIME up to the first bend point, plus 32% up to the second, plus 15% above it, rounded down to the dime.
Worked example: someone born in 1964 with average earnings of $60,000 over 35 years has an AIME of $5,000. With the 2026 bend points, PIA = 90% × $1,286 + 32% × $3,714 = $1,157.40 + $1,188.48 = $2,345.80. Claimed at 62 (60 months early) it is 30% lower, $1,642; at 70 it is 24% higher, $2,908.
| Year you turn 62 | First bend point | Second bend point |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1,226 | $7,391 |
| 2026 | $1,286 | $7,749 |
| 2027 | $1,340 | $8,077 |
Full retirement age and the claiming rules
- Full retirement age is 66 if you were born 1943–1954, rising by two months a year to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
- Claiming early cuts the benefit by 5/9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond — 30% at 62 when full retirement age is 67.
- Waiting past full retirement age adds 2/3 of 1% a month (8% a year) up to age 70. There is no gain from waiting beyond 70.
- A spouse can get up to half of your PIA. If they claim before their own full retirement age it is cut by 25/36 of 1% a month for 36 months and 5/12 of 1% after that; spousal benefits earn no delayed credits.
- Since the Social Security Fairness Act (January 2025) the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset no longer reduce benefits, so this tool does not apply them.
Limits of this estimate
The earnings method assumes your average is already in today’s wage terms and capped at the taxable maximum ($184,500 in 2026). Your real record may have low years, gaps or years above the cap, so your statement is the better number. For people turning 62 after 2027, future bend points are not known; the 2027 set is used, which keeps the result in today’s dollars. Survivor, disability and family-maximum rules are not modelled. To decide when to claim, compare lifetime totals with the Social Security break-even calculator, and plan the rest of your income with the retirement calculator.
Social Security Calculator (Benefit Estimator by Age) FAQ
How accurate is this Social Security calculator?
It uses the official formula, bend points and reduction factors, so with your statement’s PIA the age table matches what SSA would pay in today’s dollars, apart from rounding. Estimates from average earnings are rougher because they cannot see your real year-by-year record.
How much Social Security will I get at 62?
If your full retirement age is 67, 70% of your PIA. With a $2,000 PIA that is $1,400 a month, for life, plus yearly cost-of-living increases.
What is the spousal benefit?
Up to 50% of the worker’s PIA at the spouse’s full retirement age. If the spouse has a benefit of their own, they get their own amount plus any top-up that brings the total to that 50%.
Does working while claiming early reduce my benefit?
Before full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $2 earned above $24,480 in 2026 ($25,560 in 2027). The withheld months are credited back when you reach full retirement age.
Why does my birth date matter if I was born on the 1st?
Social Security considers you to reach an age the day before your birthday, so someone born on 1 January is treated as born in the previous year, and someone born on the 1st of a month reaches 62 a month earlier.
Is my data stored or sent anywhere?
No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded and no contact details are asked for.