Deciding when to start Social Security — at 62, at your full retirement age, or by waiting until 70 — is one of the biggest money decisions of retirement. Use the free calculator below to compare your estimated monthly benefit, your lifetime total, and your break-even age at every claiming age. Nothing is stored, and no sign-up is required.
Compare Your Social Security Claiming Options
See how claiming at 62, your full retirement age, or 70 changes your estimated monthly check, your lifetime total, and your break-even age. Takes about a minute.
- ✔ No sign-up required
- ✔ No personal information stored
- ✔ 100% free
How would you like to start?
Your SSA statement gives the most useful comparison. No statement handy? Use the rough estimate.
Find this on your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount — the estimate listed at your full retirement age.
This rough estimate uses 2026 bend points as a current-dollar proxy. Social Security’s real calculation depends on your year of eligibility and your 35 highest years of indexed earnings, so your official SSA estimate may be different.
How long should we compare?
We use this only to compare lifetime totals. There’s no right answer — many planners use the late 80s to 90s.
Teaching this in a classroom? The same claiming-age math comes as a no-tech, print-and-do lesson set for grades 9–12: Understanding Social Security — a labeled sample statement, three leveled worksheets, an answer key, and a Social Security Calculator spreadsheet. Free sample with a free account.