The claiming-age trade, in exact SSA arithmetic
Your Social Security statement quotes a monthly benefit at your full retirement age (FRA) — 66 for most of the 1943–1954 cohort, rising to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claiming earlier shrinks the check permanently; waiting past FRA grows it. This calculator applies the Social Security Administration's own rules to your statement figure: early claiming is reduced by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that, while delaying past FRA earns 2/3 of 1% per month (8% a year) in delayed retirement credits, up to age 70.
The estimate starts from the benefit printed on your SSA statement (your primary insurance amount). It does not re-estimate your earnings record, and it excludes cost-of-living adjustments, the earnings test, spousal and survivor benefits, and taxes.
Worked example
A benefit of $2,000 at FRA 67: claim at 62 — a full 60 months early — and the reductions total 30% (20% for the first 36 months, 10% for the next 24), giving $1,400 a month. Wait until 70 and 36 months of delayed credits add 24%, giving $2,480 a month — 77% more than the age-62 check, for life.
How to use this calculator
- Get your estimated benefit at full retirement age from your statement at ssa.gov (or a recent paper statement).
- Enter that amount and your birth year — the calculator finds your FRA, including the two-month steps for 1955–1959 births.
- Pick a claiming age to see the monthly and annual benefit, then scan the full 62–70 table below.
- Weigh the break-even: smaller checks for more years versus larger checks for fewer. Health, other income and a spouse's benefit all belong in the real decision.
What this leaves out — on purpose
Claiming before FRA while still working can trigger the earnings test (temporary withholding, later recredited). A spouse's claiming choice interacts with yours, and survivor benefits often make the higher earner's delay the most valuable move a couple can make. This page prices the single-life arithmetic exactly; the strategy around it deserves the Retirement Calculator and, for many households, a professional hour.