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Retirement & Social Security

Social Security Retirement Benefit Calculator

Estimate your monthly Social Security retirement benefit at ages 62, full retirement age (FRA), and 70. The calculator applies the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) formula with 2025 bend points and adjusts for early or delayed retirement credits.

Your earnings & claiming inputs

Your career-average indexed monthly earnings, approximated.

Estimated monthly benefit
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Enter your details above.

Estimate only. Your official benefit is computed from your actual earnings record at ssa.gov/myaccount.

How Social Security calculates your benefit

The Social Security Administration uses a three-step formula: average your highest 35 years of indexed earnings to get your AIME, apply the bend-point formula to get your PIA, then adjust the PIA based on the age you actually claim.

The PIA formula (2025 bend points)

For someone first eligible in 2025, the PIA is computed as:

  • 90% of the first $1,226 of AIME
  • 32% of AIME between $1,226 and $7,391
  • 15% of AIME above $7,391

The bend points create a strongly progressive benefit: low earners receive a much higher replacement rate than high earners. A worker with a $30,000 AIME gets roughly 55% replacement; a worker at the $168,600 taxable maximum gets about 27%.

Claiming-age adjustments

If you claim before FRA (66–67 depending on birth year), benefits are reduced by 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% per month for any additional months. If you delay past FRA, you earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year up to age 70.

For the strategic considerations — including spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and the break-even analysis — see our Social Security claiming strategy guide.

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Common Questions

Frequently asked questions

Q: What are the Social Security bend points for 2025?

In 2025, the Social Security benefit formula uses two bend points to compute your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) from your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). The first bend point is $1,226 and the second is $7,391 — both updated annually for wage growth under 42 U.S.C. § 415. Earnings below the first bend point are replaced at 90%, earnings between the two bend points at 32%, and earnings above the second bend point at just 15%. For a worker with AIME of $6,000, the PIA calculation is roughly $1,226 × 90% + ($6,000 − $1,226) × 32% ≈ $2,631 per month. The bend points favor lower earners with a higher replacement rate.

Q: How does claiming age affect my benefit?

Your full retirement age (FRA) depends on your birth year — 66 years and 8 months for those born in 1958, ramping up to 67 for those born in 1960 or later. Claiming at age 62 (the earliest possible) reduces your monthly benefit by up to 30% for those with an FRA of 67, while delaying until age 70 increases it by 8% per year past FRA (a 24% bump for FRA 67). The reduction is prorated by month, so claiming at 65 instead of 67 costs roughly 13.34% of your benefit. The break-even age for delaying versus claiming early is typically around 78-82, depending on COLA assumptions and personal longevity. Once you claim, your benefit is locked into that reduced or increased amount (plus annual COLAs) for life.

Q: What is the maximum Social Security benefit in 2025?

The maximum Social Security retirement benefit for someone claiming at full retirement age in 2025 is $3,895 per month, up from $3,822 in 2024. To qualify, you would need to have paid the maximum Social Security payroll tax — on wages at or above the contribution base of $176,100 in 2025 — for at least 35 years. Claiming at age 70 can boost this to approximately $5,108 per month due to delayed retirement credits. The average retirement benefit in early 2025 was around $1,976 per month, well below the maximum. Spousal and survivor benefits are capped at the worker's PIA, while the family maximum benefit ranges from 150% to 188% of the worker's PIA.

Q: Are Social Security benefits taxable?

Yes, depending on your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits). If your combined income is below $25,000 (single) or $32,000 (married filing jointly), your benefits are not taxed. Between $25,000-$34,000 (single) or $32,000-$44,000 (MFJ), up to 50% of benefits may be taxed. Above $34,000 (single) or $44,000 (MFJ), up to 85% of benefits may be taxed. These thresholds were set in 1983 and 1993 and have never been indexed for inflation, so more retirees are taxed each year. Some states also tax Social Security benefits, though 38 states and the District of Columbia exempt them entirely or partially.

Q: What is the spousal benefit and how is it calculated?

The spousal benefit is up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), payable to a current, divorced, or surviving spouse who did not earn a larger benefit on their own work record. To claim, the lower-earning spouse must be at least 62 (or any age if caring for a qualifying child under 16), and the higher-earning spouse must have already claimed their own benefit. Spousal benefits are reduced for claiming before the spouse's FRA — at age 62, the maximum drops to about 32.5% of PIA instead of 50%. Divorced spouses can claim on their ex's record after 10 years of marriage if currently unmarried, and survivor benefits (up to 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit) are generally more generous than spousal benefits.

Q: How does working in retirement affect my Social Security?

If you claim benefits before full retirement age and continue working, your benefits are reduced by the Retirement Earnings Test (RET). In 2025, the test withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above $23,400 in the years before FRA. In the year you reach FRA, the threshold jumps to $62,160, with $1 withheld for every $3 earned above that limit until the month you hit FRA. After FRA, there is no earnings test — you can earn any amount with no reduction. The withheld benefits are not lost; they are credited back as delayed retirement credits, which increase your monthly benefit once you reach FRA. The RET does not apply to survivor or dependent benefits, and self-employment income counts toward the earnings limit.