Social Security Breakeven Calculator
Claim at 62, at your full retirement age, or at 70? Enter your numbers and see exactly where each strategy breaks even, in dollars and in years.
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The breakeven question, answered with math
Every Social Security claiming decision is a trade between time and amount. Claim at 62 and you collect checks for up to 8 extra years, but each check is permanently smaller. Wait until 70 and each check is permanently larger, but you collect fewer of them. The breakeven age is the birthday where the cumulative totals cross: before it, the early claimer has collected more; after it, the late claimer pulls ahead.
The math is driven by two official formulas. Early claiming reduces your benefit by 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before your full retirement age, and 5/12 of 1% per month beyond that. For a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 means a 30% permanent reduction. Delaying past your full retirement age earns delayed retirement credits of 8% per year (for workers born in 1943 or later), up to age 70, so a 67 full retirement age becomes 124% of your benefit at 70.
In practice the breakeven ages land in a narrow band. For most workers the 62-vs-full-retirement-age crossover falls around age 78 to 80, and the full-retirement-age-vs-70 crossover falls around age 82 to 83. Those numbers shift with your exact full retirement age and your life expectancy. If your family history suggests a shorter lifespan, early claiming often wins on total dollars. If you expect to live well past 85, delaying usually wins. There is no universal right answer, only the math for your dates. Run the numbers above, then confirm your personal benefit record with your statement at ssa.gov.
Official figures, in tables
All figures below come from the Social Security Administration (ssa.gov). The early-claiming reduction and delayed-credit rules are fixed by law; the bend points below are the 2026 PIA formula.
Table 1: Full retirement age by birth year
| Year of birth | Full retirement age | Benefit at 62 (% of PIA) | Benefit at 70 (% of PIA) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 or earlier | 65 | 80.0% | 132.5% |
| 1938 | 65 and 2 months | 79.1% | 131.4% |
| 1939 | 65 and 4 months | 78.3% | 132.7% |
| 1940 | 65 and 6 months | 77.5% | 131.5% |
| 1941 | 65 and 8 months | 76.6% | 132.5% |
| 1942 | 65 and 10 months | 75.8% | 131.3% |
| 1943 to 1954 | 66 | 75.0% | 132.0% |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months | 74.1% | 130.7% |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months | 73.3% | 129.3% |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months | 72.5% | 128.0% |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months | 71.6% | 126.7% |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months | 70.8% | 125.3% |
| 1960 or later | 67 | 70.0% | 124.0% |
Full retirement age source: ssa.gov/oact/progdata/nra.html. Age-62 figures from SSA's official benefit-reduction table (ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/earlyretire.html). Age-70 figures combine the full retirement age with SSA's delayed retirement credit schedule (ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/early_late.html): 8% per year for workers born in 1943 or later, 6.5% to 7.5% per year for earlier birth years. Note: if you were born on January 1 of any year, SSA uses the previous year.
Table 2: Early reduction and delayed credit rates
| Rule | Rate | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Claiming early, first 36 months before FRA | 5/9 of 1% per month | About 6.67% per year |
| Claiming early, months beyond 36 before FRA | 5/12 of 1% per month | 5% per year |
| Claiming at 62 with FRA 67 (example) | 36 mo x 5/9% + 24 mo x 5/12% | 30% total reduction |
| Delayed retirement credit (born 1943 or later) | 2/3 of 1% per month | 8% per year, up to age 70 |
| Delayed retirement credit (born 1937 to 1942) | 6.5% to 7.5% per year | Up to age 70 |
| Claiming at 70 with FRA 67 (example) | 36 months of 8% credits | 24% total increase |
Source: ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/early_late.html. No delayed retirement credits are given for months after age 70.
Table 3: 2026 PIA bend points
For workers who first become eligible for benefits in 2026, SSA converts average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) into the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) as:
- 90% of the first $1,286 of AIME, plus
- 32% of AIME between $1,286 and $7,749, plus
- 15% of AIME over $7,749.
Source: ssa.gov/oact/cola/piaformula.html (2026 PIA formula). The 90/32/15 percentages are fixed by law; the dollar bend points adjust each year with the national average wage index.
Learn more
- How Social Security benefits are calculated: from your 35 best years to your AIME to your PIA, with a worked example.
- Full retirement age by birth year: the official FRA table explained, including the January 1 rule.
- Claiming early vs delaying Social Security: trade-offs, and who should consider each path.
- Social Security spousal benefits: the 50% rule, timing, and how spousal benefits interact with your own.
- Taxes on Social Security benefits: provisional income thresholds and state taxation notes.