Social Security Benefits Estimator
Get a rough estimate of your monthly Social Security benefit from your average career earnings, shown at ages 62, 67, and 70.
Last updated: October 2026
Your earnings
Rough estimate only. Uses the 2026 bend points and simplified early/late adjustments. Your official estimate is at ssa.gov.
How your benefit is built
Social Security turns your career earnings into a monthly check in two steps. First, the SSA computes your AIME (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings): your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for wage inflation, averaged and divided by 12. Years you earned nothing count as zeros, so a full 35-year work history matters. Second, the AIME runs through the bend-point formula to produce your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount): your monthly benefit at full retirement age.
Bend points: why the formula favors lower earners
The bend points make Social Security progressive by design. Everyone's first $1,286 of monthly average earnings is replaced at 90 cents on the dollar, the next chunk at 32 cents, and earnings above $7,749 at only 15 cents. A worker who averaged $2,000 a month gets a far larger share of their wages replaced than one who averaged $10,000. For 2026 the bend points are $1,286 and $7,749, and the maximum monthly benefit at full retirement age is about $4,152, reserved for people who earned at or above the taxable maximum for all 35 years.
Claiming age: 62 vs. 67 vs. 70
Your PIA is the benefit at full retirement age (67 for anyone born 1960 or later). Claim at 62 and the check shrinks to roughly 70% of PIA, permanently. Wait until 70 and delayed retirement credits lift it to roughly 124%, permanently. The break-even math: delaying from 67 to 70 means giving up three years of checks to gain 24% more for life, which pays off if you live into your early 80s. There is no formula for your health, your savings, or whether you enjoy your job, so treat the claiming decision as part math, part life planning.
Worked example
With an AIME of $5,000: 90% of the first $1,286 = $1,157.40; 32% of the next $3,714 ($5,000 minus $1,286) = $1,188.48; nothing above $7,749. PIA = $1,157.40 + $1,188.48 = $2,345.88 a month at 67, or about $28,150 a year. At 62 that becomes roughly $1,642 a month; at 70 roughly $2,909 a month. The $1,267 monthly gap between claiming at 62 and 70 is the price, or the reward, of patience.
Use it in your plan, carefully
Social Security was designed as a floor, not a retirement plan: it replaces roughly 40% of an average earner's wages. Fold your estimate into the retirement planner by subtracting it from your spending need before computing the nest egg required. And plan with a haircut: trust-fund projections suggest benefits could be cut to about 75-80% of scheduled levels in the mid-2030s without congressional action, so discounting your estimate 20 to 25% is prudent planning, not pessimism. Check your official estimate at ssa.gov, where your actual earnings record lives.
Spouses, survivors, and the earnings test
Your benefit affects more than you. A spouse can claim up to 50% of your full benefit (reduced if they claim early), and a surviving spouse can receive up to 100% of your benefit, which makes delaying especially valuable for the higher earner in a couple. Work while collecting before full retirement age and the earnings test withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above about $23,000 (2026 figure, adjusted yearly); the withheld money is not lost, it is credited back as a higher benefit later. Benefits themselves can be taxable: up to 85% of your Social Security is subject to income tax once your combined income crosses the thresholds, a detail this rough estimator leaves out.
Social Security FAQs
What is AIME?
AIME is your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings: the Social Security Administration takes your 35 highest-earning years, adjusts them for wage inflation, averages them, and divides by 12. Years you did not work count as zeros, which is why 35 full working years matter so much.
What are bend points?
Bend points are the income thresholds where your benefit formula gets less generous. For 2026 they are $1,286 and $7,749: you get 90% of AIME up to $1,286, 32% of AIME between the two points, and 15% above $7,749. The formula replaces a bigger share of low earners' wages by design.
Should I claim at 62 or wait until 70?
Claiming at 62 cuts your benefit to about 70% of the full amount for life; waiting until 70 raises it to about 124%. If you expect a long life and can afford to wait, delaying is usually the better deal. If you need the income or have health concerns, claiming early is reasonable.
What is full retirement age?
Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. It is 66 and some months for those born 1955 to 1959. Your full benefit (100% of your primary insurance amount) is what you get by claiming at exactly that age.
What is the maximum Social Security benefit?
For someone claiming at full retirement age in 2026, the maximum monthly benefit is about $4,152, and it goes only to people who earned at or above the taxable maximum for 35 years. Most retirees receive far less: the average is roughly half that.
Will Social Security still be there when I retire?
Current projections show the trust fund can pay full benefits into the mid-2030s, then about 75 to 80% of scheduled benefits from payroll taxes alone unless Congress acts. Plan conservatively by discounting your estimate 20 to 25%, but do not plan on zero.
How accurate is this estimator?
It is deliberately rough: it uses the 2026 bend points, simplified 70%/100%/124% age adjustments, and your entered average earnings. The SSA's own calculator uses your actual year-by-year earnings record with exact indexing and reduction factors, so treat this as a planning sketch and check ssa.gov for your official number.