Social Security calculator: what you'd get at each age
Social Security pays the most each month if you wait until 70 and the least if you start at 62. Starting at 62 instead of 67 cuts the payment by 30% for life. Waiting from 67 to 70 adds 24%. Enter the amount from your statement to see every age side by side.
Your numbers
No statement? Estimate it from your pay
| Start at | Each month | Compared with full retirement age | Total by age 85 |
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See the math
The rules behind the numbers
- Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and 66 and 2 to 10 months for people born from 1955 to 1959 (SSA: Retirement age).
- Starting early lowers your payment 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 (SSA: Early retirement).
- Waiting past full retirement age adds 2/3 of 1% a month, which is 8% a year, until 70 (SSA: Delayed retirement credits). There's no gain from waiting past 70.
- A public pension doesn't lower it. The Social Security Fairness Act ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset for benefits from January 2024 (SSA: Social Security Fairness Act).
- Working while you collect before full retirement age can hold back some payments. In 2027 Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above $25,560 (SSA: Earnings test).
To see Social Security next to your pension and savings, try Can I retire? or the full Retirement Date Planner. For help choosing, read When should I start Social Security?
See a worked example
Pat, a made-up example, was born in 1964, so Pat's full retirement age is 67. Pat's statement shows $2,200 a month at 67.
- At 62: 60 months early. The first 36 months cut 20% and the other 24 cut 10%, so Pat gets 70% of $2,200, or $1,540 a month.
- At 67: the full $2,200 a month.
- At 70: 36 months late adds 24%, so Pat gets $2,728 a month.
By 85, starting at 62 pays about $425,000 in total and starting at 70 about $491,000, before cost-of-living raises. Starting at 67 instead of 62 catches up around age 78 and 8 months.
Common questions
Is it better to start Social Security at 62 or 70?
It depends on your health, your other income and your spouse. Waiting pays more each month for life, and if you earned more than your spouse it also raises what they'd get as a survivor. Starting early can make sense if you need the money or don't expect a long life.
Are these amounts in today's dollars?
Yes. Social Security adds a cost-of-living raise each year, so your real checks will be larger. The raise for 2027 is 3.6%.
Does my pension lower my Social Security?
Not anymore. Since the Social Security Fairness Act, a pension from a job that didn't pay Social Security tax no longer reduces your own or your spousal and survivor benefits.
Why is my estimate different from my statement?
Your statement uses your real earnings record, year by year. The estimate here assumes the same pay every year and counts missing years as zero, so use your statement whenever you can.
An estimate, not advice. Social Security decides your benefit from your own earnings record. Check your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount before you apply.