Social Security Calculator
Claiming at 62 rather than 70 can nearly halve your cheque, for life. Waiting means years with nothing. The one honest number here is the break-even age. how long you must live for waiting to have paid off.
Waiting pays off if you live past
-
- Your full retirement age
- -
- Your benefit at that age
- $0
- Claiming at 62
- $0
- Waiting until 70
- $0
- Extra each month for waiting
- $0
Where the money goes
Each block is sized by its share, so you can see whether claiming at 62 or waiting until 70 is the bigger part without reading a single number.
Move it and watch
-
at {v} for your average indexed monthly earnings
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Every claiming age, side by side
The same earnings record, claimed at each possible age. Nothing after 70 is shown because nothing is gained after 70.
| Claim at | Adjustment | Each month | Each year |
|---|
Your benefit at full retirement age is 90% of the first $1,286 of average indexed monthly earnings, plus 32% up to $7,749, plus 15% above that. Claiming early cuts it by five ninths of one percent a month for the first three years and five twelfths after. Waiting adds 8% a year, stopping at 70.
Claiming Social Security: real examples
Three ways to see the same decision. Click any card to load it.
- The full range
Born 1970, $6,000 average earnings
Every claiming age side by side.
Claiming at 62 pays $1,866 a month. Waiting to 70 pays $3,306. nearly double, for life.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - A smaller earnings record
$3,000 average earnings
The same choice on a lower income.
$1,194 at 62 against $2,115 at 70. The break-even is the same age. it does not depend on how much you earned.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - A smaller gap
Claiming at 67 against 70
Full retirement age against waiting three more years.
A much closer call, and the break-even lands later. Waiting past full retirement age is a weaker bet than waiting to reach it.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about claiming Social Security
What does claiming early actually cost me?
Claiming at 62 instead of your full retirement age cuts your cheque by up to 30%, and that cut is permanent. Waiting until 70 adds 8% for every year past full retirement age. Between the earliest and latest choice the monthly difference is often close to double.
So should I just wait until 70?
Only if you live long enough for it to pay off. Waiting means years with no cheque at all, and you need to live past the break-even age to come out ahead. This tool tells you what that age is for your numbers. It is a fact; how long you will live is not.
What is the break-even age?
The age at which waiting has caught up with claiming early. Before it, claiming early was better. After it, waiting was. It usually lands somewhere in the early eighties, which is why health and family history matter more here than any interest rate.
What is my full retirement age?
It depends on when you were born. For anyone born in 1960 or later it is 67. For those born 1943 to 1954 it is 66, with the years in between rising in two-month steps. The tool works yours out from your birth year.
Is there any point claiming after 70?
None at all. Credits stop accruing at 70, so waiting longer means giving up cheques for nothing in return. If you have not claimed by 70, claim.
What does this leave out?
Tax on benefits, spousal and survivor rules, the effect of working while claiming, and any future change to the programme. Your own statement at the SSA site uses your real earnings record and is the figure to plan around. This shows the shape of the decision.
The guide behind this calculator
Bend points, reduction rates and the delayed credit are the 2026 figures, read from the Social Security Administration on 2026-08-18. Bend points change every year with the national average wage index. Your own statement at ssa.gov uses your real earnings record and is the figure to plan around.