How much Social Security will I get?

Your benefit is based on your 35 highest-earning years. The average retirement benefit in 2025 is $1,907/month at full retirement age (67). Maximum benefit at age 67 is $4,018/month (requires earning above the taxable maximum for 35 years). Use the tables below to estimate benefits based on your average career earnings.

Is it better to take Social Security at 62 or 67?

Taking at 62 gives you 30% less per month but 5 more years of payments. Taking at 67 gives the full amount. The breakeven age is about 78-80 — if you live past 80, waiting until 67 pays more total. If you live to 85, delaying to 67 nets about $48,000 more. For very long life expectancies, delaying to 70 is even better: the breakeven vs 62 is about age 80-82.

How is Social Security calculated?

SSA calculates your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) from your highest 35 years of earnings (adjusted for wage inflation). Then it applies a formula with 'bend points': 90% of the first $1,174, 32% of the next $5,904, and 15% of anything above $7,078 (2025 amounts). This progressive formula is why lower earners replace a higher percentage of their income.

Social Security Calculator: Estimate Your Benefits by Age (2026)

Use these tables to estimate your Social Security benefits and find the optimal claiming age.

Estimated Monthly Benefits by Career Earnings

If You Claim at Full Retirement Age (67)

Average Annual Earnings	Estimated Monthly Benefit	Annual Benefit	Replacement Rate
$20,000	$1,020	$12,240	61.2%
$30,000	$1,280	$15,360	51.2%
$40,000	$1,480	$17,760	44.4%
$50,000	$1,650	$19,800	39.6%
$60,000	$1,810	$21,720	36.2%
$75,000	$2,050	$24,600	32.8%
$100,000	$2,450	$29,400	29.4%
$125,000	$2,770	$33,240	26.6%
$150,000	$3,090	$37,080	24.7%
$168,600+ (max taxable)	$4,018	$48,216	28.6%

Social Security replaces a larger percentage of income for lower earners (progressive benefit formula).

Benefits by Claiming Age

How Claiming Age Affects Your Monthly Check

Claiming Age	% of Full Benefit	Monthly Benefit (Avg Earner)	Monthly Benefit (High Earner)
62	70.0%	$1,335	$2,813
63	75.0%	$1,430	$3,014
64	80.0%	$1,526	$3,214
65	86.7%	$1,654	$3,484
66	93.3%	$1,780	$3,749
67 (FRA)	100.0%	$1,907	$4,018
68	108.0%	$2,060	$4,339
69	116.0%	$2,212	$4,661
70	124.0%	$2,365	$4,982

Monthly Difference: Early vs Late Claiming

Comparison	Monthly Difference	Annual Difference
Age 62 vs 67	-$572/month	-$6,864/year
Age 62 vs 70	-$1,030/month	-$12,360/year
Age 67 vs 70	-$458/month	-$5,496/year

Lifetime Benefits by Claiming Age

Total Benefits Received by Various Ages

Death Age	Claim at 62	Claim at 67	Claim at 70	Best Strategy
70	$128,160	$68,652	$0	Claim at 62
75	$208,260	$182,892	$170,460	Claim at 62
78	$256,428	$251,604	$272,448	Claim at 70
80	$288,360	$297,396	$340,980	Claim at 70
82	$320,292	$343,188	$409,476	Claim at 70
85	$368,460	$411,804	$511,740	Claim at 70
90	$448,560	$525,780	$682,260	Claim at 70
95	$528,660	$639,756	$852,780	Claim at 70

Based on average earner receiving $1,907 at FRA. Claiming at 70 wins if you live past ~80.

Breakeven Ages

Comparison	Breakeven Age
Age 62 vs Age 67	~78-80
Age 62 vs Age 70	~80-82
Age 67 vs Age 70	~82-83

If you expect to live past the breakeven age, delaying pays more in total lifetime benefits.

Spousal Benefits

Spousal Benefit Amounts

Higher Earner’s PIA (at 67)	Spousal Benefit (at FRA)	Spousal at 62 (Reduced)
$1,500	$750	$525
$2,000	$1,000	$700
$2,500	$1,250	$875
$3,000	$1,500	$1,050
$4,018 (max)	$2,009	$1,406

The spousal benefit is up to 50% of the worker’s full retirement age benefit. Claiming early permanently reduces it.

Survivor Benefits

Deceased Spouse’s Benefit	Survivor at FRA	Survivor at 60 (Earliest)
$1,500	$1,500 (100%)	$1,073 (71.5%)
$2,000	$2,000 (100%)	$1,430 (71.5%)
$2,500	$2,500 (100%)	$1,788 (71.5%)
$3,000	$3,000 (100%)	$2,145 (71.5%)

Survivor receives 100% of the deceased spouse’s benefit at full retirement age (not 50%).

How Much of Your Benefits Are Taxable

Filing Status	Combined Income*	% of Benefits Taxable
Single	Under $25,000	0%
Single	$25,000 – $34,000	Up to 50%
Single	Over $34,000	Up to 85%
Married (joint)	Under $32,000	0%
Married (joint)	$32,000 – $44,000	Up to 50%
Married (joint)	Over $44,000	Up to 85%

Combined income = Adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security benefits.

Tax Impact Examples (Single Filer)

Total Income	SS Benefit	Combined Income	SS Taxable	Federal Tax on SS
$20,000	$20,000	$30,000	50% ($10,000)	~$1,200
$30,000	$22,000	$41,000	85% ($18,700)	~$2,244
$50,000	$24,000	$62,000	85% ($20,400)	~$4,488

Recent COLA History

Year	COLA	Average Benefit Before	Average Benefit After	Monthly Increase
2025	2.5%	$1,860	$1,907	$47
2024	3.2%	$1,803	$1,860	$57
2023	8.7%	$1,658	$1,803	$145
2022	5.9%	$1,565	$1,658	$93
2021	1.3%	$1,545	$1,565	$20
2020	1.6%	$1,521	$1,545	$24

When to Claim: Decision Framework

Claim Early (62-64) If…	Wait (67-70) If…
Poor health / short life expectancy	Good health / family longevity
Need the income to cover basic expenses	Have other income to bridge the gap
Going to invest the benefits aggressively	Want guaranteed lifetime income increase
Have a much-higher-earning spouse (their survivor benefit matters more)	Are the higher earner (max survivor benefit for spouse)
Unemployed and exhausted savings	Still working (benefits reduced before FRA)

Earnings Test (If Working Before FRA)

Situation	Earnings Limit	Benefit Reduction
Under FRA for full year	$23,400 (2025)	$1 withheld per $2 over limit
Year you reach FRA	$62,160 (2025)	$1 withheld per $3 over limit
FRA and above	No limit	No reduction

Benefits withheld before FRA are returned through higher monthly payments after FRA — they’re not lost permanently.

Metric	Current Status (2025)
Trust fund depletion year	~2033
Benefit cut if nothing changes	~21% reduction
Workers per beneficiary (1960)	5.1
Workers per beneficiary (2025)	2.7
Workers per beneficiary (2035)	2.3

What this means: Even the worst-case scenario (Congress does nothing) still provides about 79% of promised benefits. Historically, Congress has always intervened before trust fund depletion. Plan conservatively but don’t skip Social Security in your calculations.