Social Security Calculator

Estimate a 2026 retirement benefit from birth year and AIME, with claim-age break-even. Not a benefit award.

Smart Tips

• 2026 bend points are $1,286 and $7,749. They apply to workers who turn 62 in 2026, birth year 1964. Any other birth year is using those bend points as a stand-in on the AIME you type.

• The PIA is rounded down to the next lower dime. The monthly benefit is rounded down to the next lower dollar.

• The first 36 months before full retirement age reduce the benefit by 5/9 of 1% each. Further months reduce it by 5/12 of 1% each.

• Birth years 1943 and later earn 8% a year for delaying, through age 70. Break-even on this page has no COLA.

The Formula

PIA = 90% of AIME to $1,286 + 32% to $7,749 + 15% above

AIME Average indexed monthly earnings
You type it, or a stand-in

Bend points 2026 eligibility year
$1,286 and $7,749

Early 5/9 of 1%, then 5/12 of 1%
Per month before full retirement age

Delayed 2/3 of 1% per month
8% a year, through age 70

A published illustration uses AIME $5,825: 90% of $1,286 plus 32% of the rest is $2,609.88, which drops to a $2,609.80 PIA. At full retirement age that pays $2,609 a month. Sixty months early is a 30% reduction. Thirty-six months late is a 24% credit.

Key Insights

Not an earnings record

The AIME field is the average you enter. The page does not index wages or drop low years.

Birth year sets the full age

The reduction and the credit count months from that full retirement age, not from a fixed age 66.

Break-even is nominal

The later claim catches up only in dollar months, with no cost-of-living raise and no gap before the first check.

January 1 is a special rule

Someone born on January 1 is treated as reaching an age in the prior year. This page has no day field, so use the prior birth year.

Full retirement age by birth year

Birth year	Full retirement age
1943–1954	66 years
1955	66 years and 2 months
1956	66 years and 4 months
1957	66 years and 6 months
1958	66 years and 8 months
1959	66 years and 10 months
1960 and later	67 years

Frequently Asked Questions

No. It is an estimate from the birth year and the AIME you type. It does not see your earnings record, your delayed retirement credits already on file, or a family benefit. The Social Security Administration calculates the award.

The primary insurance amount is 90% of average indexed monthly earnings up to $1,286, plus 32% of the amount through $7,749, plus 15% above $7,749. Drop the PIA to the next lower $0.10. These bend points are for workers who first become eligible in 2026. For every other birth year, the page labels them as a stand-in.

Each of the first 36 months before full retirement age takes 5/9 of 1%. Each further month takes 5/12 of 1%. Someone born in 1960 or later who claims at 62 is 60 months early, which is 30%. A $1,000 full-retirement benefit then pays $700. Someone born in 1955 is 50 months early at 62, and $1,000 pays $741.

For birth years 1943 and later, the credit is 8% a year, which is 2/3 of 1% per month, and it stops at age 70. Thirty-six months after a full retirement age of 67 is a 24% credit: $1,000 becomes $1,240. This page does not cover the smaller credits for births before 1943.

The earlier claim pays one check a month until the later claim starts. After that, both amounts are added each month. Break-even is the first month the later total catches the earlier total. There is no COLA, no earnings test, and no one-month delay before the first payment.

2026 bend points, $1,286 and $7,749, are on the Social Security primary insurance amount page. Early and delayed factors are on Effect of Early or Delayed Retirement. The birth-year chart is on Early or Late Retirement. Delayed credits are on Delayed retirement credits. As of 14 October 2026, SSA had not published 2027 PIA bend points, so this page stays on 2026. This is an estimate, not a benefit award.

Responsive Ad Space

Monthly benefit at the age you chose

Enter values to calculate

Primary insurance amount

Monthly at 62

Monthly at full retirement age

Monthly at 70

Note:This is an estimate, not a Social Security award and not retirement advice. The Social Security Administration decides the payment. Actual benefits can differ. The one-month payment lag, COLA, and the earnings test are not included.