1. Who is claiming?
You
Your spouse
Assumptions
The discount rate is what a dollar received later is worth compared with one received now, after inflation. Zero counts every dollar the same; 1 to 2 is a common range for money that would otherwise sit in safe investments. Cost-of-living increases are assumed to equal inflation.
Fill in the boxes above, then click Compare claiming ages.
Result
Claiming age, one benefit at a time
| Claim at | Monthly check | Percent of full | Lifetime total | Present value |
|---|
Lifetime total adds every monthly check to the plan-to age. Present value discounts each one at the rate above. The shaded row has the highest present value. This table ignores the spouse; the couple section below does not.
Best pair of claim ages for the household
| If | Person A claims at | Person B claims at | Household present value | Gain over both at 62 |
|---|
Each row searches every pair of whole-year claim ages plus each person's exact full retirement age. The survivor keeps the larger of the two checks after the first death, and a spousal top-up is paid while both are alive once both have claimed.
Household present value at your planning ages
Rows are the first person's claim age, columns the second's. The highlighted cell is the best pair.
The rules, and what they leave out
- Own benefit: reduced 5/9 of one percent for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of one percent for each month beyond that; increased 2/3 of one percent for each month after it, up to age 70.
- Spousal top-up: half of the higher earner's full-retirement-age amount minus the lower earner's own full-retirement-age amount, when positive. Reduced 25/36 of one percent a month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 beyond. Starts no earlier than both people have claimed.
- Survivor: the larger of the survivor's own check and the deceased's, at least 82.5% of the deceased's full-retirement-age amount if they claimed early. This tool starts it at the later of the death and the survivor's survivor full retirement age, at 100%. Starting it earlier is possible at a reduction and is not modelled.
- Not modelled: income tax on benefits, Medicare premiums and surcharges, the earnings test while working before full retirement age, children's and divorced-spouse benefits, government pension offsets, the exact month of the first payment, wage indexing before 62, and legislative change. Benefits are stated in today's dollars.
- Unverified: the rules were read from SSA's published text and the arithmetic checked against hand calculation, but not against SSA's own calculator or a real benefit letter. If yours disagrees, that is the priority report.
Common questions
When should I claim Social Security?
There is no single right age. Claiming at 62 pays a smaller check for longer, claiming at 70 pays a check up to about 77% larger than at 62 for a shorter time. Waiting from 62 to 70 breaks even at about age 80 before discounting, so how long you and your spouse expect to live, whether you need the money now, and whether one spouse will be a survivor all matter. This tool shows the trade for your own numbers.
What is my full retirement age?
It depends on birth year: 66 for people born 1943 to 1954, rising two months a year to 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claim before it and the benefit is permanently reduced; claim after it and it grows by two thirds of one percent for each month you wait, up to age 70.
How much is a spousal benefit?
Up to half of the higher earner's full-retirement-age amount, paid on top of the lower earner's own benefit only to the extent that half exceeds the lower earner's own full-retirement-age amount. It is reduced if it starts before the lower earner's full retirement age, and it earns no credits for waiting past it. It cannot start until the higher earner has filed.
What does a surviving spouse receive?
The larger of their own benefit and the deceased spouse's benefit, not both. If the deceased claimed early, the survivor's amount is at least 82.5% of the full-retirement-age amount. The survivor can start as early as 60 at 71.5% of that amount, rising to 100% at the survivor full retirement age. Because the survivor keeps the higher check, the higher earner's claim age sets the household's income for whoever lives longest.
What is the break-even age for waiting?
The age at which the extra monthly amount from claiming later has repaid the checks given up by waiting. Without discounting, waiting from 62 to 70 breaks even around 80, and from full retirement age to 70 around 82 to 83. The tool shows break-evens for your own numbers.
What does this tool leave out?
Income taxes and the taxation of benefits, Medicare premiums and income-related surcharges, the earnings test if you claim before full retirement age while working, benefits for children, divorced-spouse, government-pension offsets, the exact month benefits are first paid, and the wage-indexing that changes your amount before 62. Amounts are in today's dollars with cost-of-living increases assumed equal to inflation.
Where do I find my benefit at full retirement age?
Your my Social Security statement at ssa.gov lists estimated monthly benefits at 62, at full retirement age and at 70. Use the full-retirement-age figure. If you are not yet near retirement it is an estimate that assumes you keep earning at your current level.
Is my information uploaded anywhere?
No. Everything you type stays in this browser tab. There are no accounts, cookies or analytics vendors.
Also offered a pension buyout? See the pension lump sum vs monthly pension calculator.