Compare two claiming ages: the monthly benefit at each, running totals by age, and the age at which waiting pays off, using the reduction and delayed-credit rules in SSA's regulations
Enter your monthly benefit at full retirement age (it is on your Social Security statement), the year you were born and two claiming ages between 62 and 70. The calculator applies the early-claiming reduction or the delayed retirement credits to each, adds up the benefits received month by month, and finds the age at which the later claim's total catches up. An optional return lets you count money received earlier as worth more.
Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born on January 2, 1960 or later (20 CFR 404.409). Claiming earlier cuts the benefit by 5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% for each further month, so claiming at 62 with a full retirement age of 67 (60 months early) pays 70.00%. Waiting past full retirement age earns a delayed retirement credit of 2/3 of 1% a month (8% a year) for anyone born after January 1, 1943, up to age 70: 124.00% at 70. With a $2,000 benefit at 67, that is $1,400 at 62 and $2,480 at 70.
| Claim at | Share of full benefit | Monthly benefit | Breaks even with claiming at 62 at age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70.00% | $1,400 | — |
| 63 | 75.00% | $1,500 | 77 years 1 month |
| 64 | 80.00% | $1,600 | 78 years 1 month |
| 65 | 86.67% | $1,733 | 77 years 8 months |
| 66 | 93.33% | $1,867 | 78 years 1 month |
| 67 | 100.00% | $2,000 | 78 years 9 months |
| 68 | 108.00% | $2,160 | 79 years 1 month |
| 69 | 116.00% | $2,320 | 79 years 8 months |
| 70 | 124.00% | $2,480 | 80 years 5 months |
Claiming at 70 instead of 62 means 96 months without a check, then $1,080 more each month. The later total catches up at about 80 years 5 months. Waiting from 62 to 67 breaks even at about 78 years 9 months, and from 67 to 70 at about 82 years 6 months. By age 75 claiming at 62 has paid $218,400 against $148,800 for claiming at 70; by 90 it is $470,400 against $595,200. Cost-of-living increases raise both by the same percentage, so they don't move these ages.
If money received earlier could earn 3% a year, the 62-vs-70 break-even moves out to about 84 years 5 months. The calculator doesn't include spousal or survivor benefits (a higher earner who waits also raises a surviving spouse's benefit), the earnings test that withholds benefits if you work before full retirement age, or income tax on benefits. SSA rounds benefits down to the dime and dollar, so official figures can be a few cents lower. Use your own statement's figures before deciding.
For someone with a full retirement age of 67, waiting from 62 to 70 breaks even at about 80 years 5 months, from 62 to 67 at about 78 years 9 months, and from 67 to 70 at about 82 years 6 months (plain dollars, no spousal benefits).
With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 is 60 months early: 36 months × 5/9 of 1% plus 24 months × 5/12 of 1% = a 30% reduction, so you receive 70% of the full benefit (20 CFR 404.410).
Delayed retirement credits add 2/3 of 1% for each month after full retirement age, 8% a year, until 70 (20 CFR 404.313). From 67 that is 36 months, or 124% of the full benefit.
67 if you were born on January 2, 1960 or later; 66 plus 2 to 10 months for 1955–1959 births; 66 for 1943–1954 (20 CFR 404.409). People born on January 1 use the previous year.
Not in plain dollars. COLAs raise every benefit by the same percentage, so both claiming ages grow alike and the age where the totals cross stays put.
If you'd invest the earlier checks, a return makes early money worth more and pushes the break-even later: at 3% a year, 62 vs 70 moves to about 84 years 5 months.
Tax rules, limits and pay data change. Check the current figures with the primary source before acting on them.