Estimate your benefit and see how claiming early or late changes lifetime income.
Social Security benefits are permanently reduced for each month you claim before your Full Retirement Age, and permanently increased (by 8%/year) for each year you delay past FRA up to age 70. The FRA itself depends on your birth year — it's 65 for those born before 1938, rising to 67 for those born 1960 or later. The break-even analysis shows the crossover point: if you expect to live past it, delaying pays off; if you expect to live shorter, claiming earlier accumulates more lifetime income.
Early claiming reduction
Reduction = (5/900) × first 36 months early + (5/1200) × additional months early
Delayed retirement credit
Benefit = PIA × (1 + 8% × years delayed past FRA)
Benefit estimates are illustrative. Actual benefits are determined by your full earnings history and SSA rules. Visit ssa.gov for official estimates.
FRA is the age at which you receive 100% of your Primary Insurance Amount. It ranges from 65 (for those born before 1938) to 67 (for those born in 1960 or later), with intermediate ages for birth years in between. Check your SSA statement or ssa.gov for your exact FRA.
If your FRA is 67 and you claim at 62, you have 60 months early. The first 36 months reduce by 5/9 of 1% each (= 20%), and the next 24 reduce by 5/12 of 1% each (= 10%), for a total 30% permanent reduction. Your benefit would be 70% of PIA.
No. Delayed retirement credits stop accruing at age 70. There is no benefit to waiting beyond 70, so claiming at 70 is the latest sensible choice.
The break-even age is when the cumulative benefit from delaying surpasses what you'd have received by claiming early. If your health and family history suggest you'll live past the break-even age, delaying is the better strategy. Average life expectancy puts the break-even within reach for most people.