Social Security Claiming Age Calculator

It depends on the year you were born: 66 for 1943 to 1954, then two months more for each year, reaching 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, according to the Social Security Administration.

For anyone whose full retirement age is 67, claiming at 62 pays about 70% of the full benefit, a 30% reduction that lasts for life.

Delayed retirement credits add 8% for each year you wait past full retirement age, up to 70. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 70 pays about 124% of the full benefit.

No. Medicare eligibility starts at 65 whatever you decide about Social Security. If you are not collecting Social Security at 65, you sign up for Medicare yourself, and missing your enrollment window can mean a lifelong penalty.

No. Delayed retirement credits stop at 70, so your monthly benefit does not grow by waiting longer. That is why the calculator stops at 70. If you have not claimed by then, it is time to apply, and you can do it online at ssa.gov or with a local Social Security office.

Social Security cuts your benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months you claim before full retirement age, and by 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. The calculator applies those exact rules to your birth year, so you can see the result at every age from 62 to 70.

On your Social Security statement, which you can see any time in your my Social Security account at ssa.gov. It lists your estimated monthly benefit at full retirement age. Enter that figure in the calculator; it does not estimate your benefit from your earnings history.

Social Security treats anyone born on January 1 as born in the previous year. If you were born on January 1 of a year from 1955 to 1960, that lowers your full retirement age by two months. Enter the previous year as your birth year in the calculator to match how Social Security counts it.

No. Spousal and survivor benefits follow different rules and are not shown, and amounts are in today’s dollars with cost-of-living increases left out. If you are married, the timing of the higher earner’s claim can affect what a surviving spouse receives, so it is worth talking through before you decide.