Social Security Age & Benefit Calculator
Full retirement age is not 65 anymore. Claim at 62 and you take a permanent haircut; at 70 you get a permanent raise. See both numbers.
No AIE number handy? Enter your lifetime average salary, for most people the 35-highest-years average lands within ~10% of it. Fewer than 35 years of work counts zeros, which drags it down.
How the math works
- FRA by birth year: 1943–1954: 66. 1955: 66+2mo. Each year to 1960 adds 2 months (1960: 67). 1960+: 67.
- Claiming early cuts 6.67%/yr for the first 3 years early, then 5%/yr, up to 30% at 62 (for FRA 67).
- Delaying past FRA adds 8%/yr to 70, then stops. The cut and the bonus are permanent, applied to each monthly check for life.
- Benefit estimate uses SSA's two-bend formula on your AIE with 2025 index thresholds ($1,377 / $8,324): 90% of the first bend, 32% of the second, 15% above, the real SSA math, simplified for one input.
- Breakeven age for 62 vs 70 ≈ age 79–80; longevity, taxes, and survivor benefits decide which wins for you.
Earnings-test reduction while working (relevant claiming before FRA): benefits cut $1 per $2 over the 2025 exempt amount ($23,400/yr), gone at FRA.
What is full retirement age for someone born in 1962?
67, exactly. Born 1959? 66 + 10 months. The table on this page gives the month-precise number, FRA is not one number for everyone.
Is claiming at 62 ever the right call?
When health/longevity risk is high, cash-flow need is real, or the money will be invested and out-earn the 30% haircut. The breakeven row frames the bet: it's a race between your portfolio and age 79.
What's the AIE number SSA uses?
Average Indexed Earnings: your 35 highest paid years, wage-indexed to today, averaged. SSA prints it on your annual statement, enter it for precision, your lifetime average for a good estimate.