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Social Security Claiming Calculator

Compare claiming at 62, full retirement age, and 70—then see the cumulative break-even ages.

Compare claiming at 62, full retirement age and 70 using one consistent set of assumptions. Calculate, review how the horizon or COLA changes the comparison, then explicitly save the scenario you want to keep.

1 · Your estimate and full retirement age

Estimated monthly benefit at full retirement age in today’s dollarsUse an SSA full-retirement-age estimate in today’s dollars, not an already increased age-70 or future-dollar amount. This scenario treats that amount as its common age-62 baseline; it does not model your current age or earnings record.Full retirement age (66–67 only)Verify your FRA with SSA. Use decimal years: 66 years 2 months ≈ 66.17; 4 months ≈ 66.33; 6 months = 66.50; 8 months ≈ 66.67; 10 months ≈ 66.83. Decimal-age rounding makes this a screening estimate, not an exact claim-month calculation.

2 · Adjust the planning assumptions

Plan-through ageWhole age through which to compare benefits, from 70 to 105. Adjust this to see how the cumulative leader changes; it is a planning horizon, not a life-expectancy prediction.Assumed annual cost-of-living adjustmentA constant annual assumption for this scenario, not a forecast or the latest announced COLA. Enter 0 to isolate claiming-age effects. The model spreads growth monthly before and after claiming; actual SSA adjustments are annual.

Model assumptions and limits

Scope: full retirement ages 66 through 67 only, covering people born in 1943 or later whose delayed-retirement credit is 8% per year. Rules checked in 2026. Uses current-law early-claim reductions and delayed credits on a common age-62-dollar timeline. The entered benefit is treated as a today’s-dollar estimate and the COLA is applied consistently before and after claiming. Earlier cohorts have different delayed-credit rates and are not modeled. Verify personal estimates and eligibility at SSA.gov; survivor, spousal, tax, earnings-test, and Medicare effects are excluded. Reviewed October 18, 2026. The constant COLA is compounded monthly, not applied on actual SSA annual adjustment/payment dates. Decimal FRA and month rounding are approximate. Cumulative amounts are undiscounted scenario dollars, not present values or guaranteed lifetime income. The comparison does not model current age, future earnings, household benefits, bridge withdrawals or exact claim-month eligibility; the displayed leader is not individualized claiming advice.

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HOW TO USE THE COMPARISON

Claiming is a lifetime-income decision—not a break-even contest alone.

Waiting can increase inflation-adjusted guaranteed income, but the best choice also depends on health, employment, survivor needs, taxes, portfolio withdrawals, and whether cash is needed earlier.

When does delaying become more valuable?

Longer life expectancy, a younger or lower-benefit spouse, sufficient bridge assets, and a need for more guaranteed late-life income generally strengthen the case.

When might earlier claiming be reasonable?

Shorter life expectancy, immediate cash need, limited bridge assets, or household-specific survivor and employment circumstances may make an earlier date defensible.

What must be checked outside this model?

Personal SSA estimates, the earnings test, spousal and survivor rules, taxation, Medicare interactions, and any government-pension rules that apply.

BEFORE CHOOSING A CLAIM DATE

Check the household decision behind the comparison.

Confirm your benefit estimate, birth-date/FRA and exact claim month with SSA. Review work income, spousal/survivor benefits, taxes, Medicare and the cash needed while waiting separately. Change the plan-through age or COLA above to compare another scenario before replacing a saved result.

SSA retirement ages and reductions → · SSA delayed credits → · SSA COLA information →

Review the broader retirement plan →

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