Social Security replaces more of a modest earner's income than a high earner's — that is the bend-point design working as intended. This social security calculator starts from your AIME (average indexed monthly earnings over your 35 best years), applies the 2025 bend points to get your Primary Insurance Amount, then scales it for the age you claim: reduced for every month before full retirement age, increased for every month you delay up to 70.
The claiming-age choice is permanent. For the FRA-67 generation, 62 locks in roughly 30% less per month for life, while 70 adds roughly 24%. Whether earlier-and-smaller or later-and-larger wins depends on your health, other income, and taxes — but the monthly numbers here are the same SSA math behind my Social Security.
How the SSA math works
Two stages. First the benefit formula: your AIME is run through three brackets — 90 cents per dollar up to the first bend point, 32 cents per dollar between the first and second, and 15 cents per dollar above it. The result is your Primary Insurance Amount, the monthly benefit at full retirement age. Second, the age adjustment: claim early and each of the first 36 months before FRA costs 5/9 of 1% per month (then 5/12 of 1% beyond 36); delay past FRA and each month earns 2/3 of 1%, capped at age 70.
That is why the calculator's most useful move is comparison — run your AIME at 62, 67, and 70 and read the lifetime tradeoff directly. Remember the spousal and survivor angle too: a higher earner delaying raises the survivor benefit a spouse would receive, which often matters more than the earner's own break-even age.
pia = 0.90 × min(aime, BP1)
+ 0.32 × clamp(aime − BP1, 0, BP2 − BP1)
+ 0.15 × max(0, aime − BP2)
early (≤36 mo): −(5/9)% per month beyond: −(5/12)% per month
late (≤36 mo): +(2/3)% per month, capped at age 70What this calculator deliberately leaves out: earnings-test reductions if you claim while still working before FRA, taxation of benefits, the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset for covered-government workers, and any future change to the benefit formula. It also assumes the FRA-67 schedule throughout — born 1960 or later — rather than the birth-year tables for older generations.
The sample, end to end. A career with $95,000 final-average annual earnings puts AIME around $7,917 — above the first bend point ($1,226) and just past the second ($7,391), so most of the formula's weight sits in the 15% bracket. Claim at 62: $2,209 a month, a 30% cut. Wait for FRA at 67: $3,155. Hold to 70: $3,912, a 24% bonus — that is $20,436 more per year than claiming at 62, every year for life.
Terms & definitions
AIME
Average Indexed Monthly Earnings — your 35 highest-earning years averaged monthly, with past wages indexed to present wage levels.
Bend points
The two dollar thresholds in the benefit formula where the replacement rate drops from 90% to 32% to 15% of AIME.
PIA
Primary Insurance Amount — the monthly benefit at full retirement age, before any claiming-age adjustment.
Delayed retirement credits
The 2/3%-per-month increase for delaying benefits past FRA, up to age 70.
Frequently asked questions
What is my full retirement age (FRA)?
It depends on birth year: 66 for those born 1943–1954, rising by months to 67 for anyone born 1960 or later. This calculator uses 67 throughout — correct if you were born 1960+, slightly optimistic for earlier generations. Check your exact FRA on your ssa.gov statement.
How much do I lose by claiming at 62?
For the FRA-67 generation, 60 months early costs 20% for the first 36 months (5/9% × 36) plus 10% for the remaining 24 (5/12% × 24) — a 30% permanent reduction. In the worked example that is the difference between the age-62 and age-67 figures. The reduction lasts for life; it also lowers the survivor benefit your spouse could receive.
What is the maximum Social Security benefit?
For those claiming at 70 in the current formula, the maximum is roughly five thousand dollars a month — it requires 35 years at or above the Social Security wage base, a very high bar. Most benefits land far below it; the bend points exist precisely so lower earners replace more of their income.
Does working after claiming reduce my benefit?
Before full retirement age, the retirement earnings test withholds part of your benefit above an annual limit (roughly $23,000 in recent years, indexed). Withheld benefits are not lost — your monthly amount is recalculated upward at FRA to credit them back. After FRA there is no earnings test. This calculator does not model the test; the SSA's own calculators do.
References
- SSA — Retirement benefits and your claiming-age options: ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
- SSA — bend points used in the benefit formula: ssa.gov/oact/cola/bendpoints.html
- SSA — full retirement age by birth year: ssa.gov/planners/retire/retirechart.html