How to use the social security breakeven calculator
- Look at your own Social Security statement and note the monthly benefit shown for each claiming age you are considering, such as 62, 67 and 70.
- Enter each claiming age and its monthly amount in the rows. You can compare two or three ages.
- If you want to include a yearly cost of living raise, open the advanced options and enter it. Leave it at 0 to compare flat amounts.
- Read the breakeven age for each pair and the table of total benefits collected by age.
Formula
Total collected by month t = monthly benefit x (t - claiming month), once t passes the claiming month
Breakeven (no raise): age = (late benefit x late age - early benefit x early age) / (late benefit - early benefit)
With a yearly raise the totals are summed month by month
Ages count from your birthday in months. Breakeven is the first month in which the later claim has collected at least as much in total as the earlier claim. The search stops at age 100.
Worked example
Suppose a statement shows $1,800 a month at 62, $2,570 at 67 and $3,190 at 70. These are example amounts, not predictions for anyone.
Claiming at 67 instead of 62 breaks even at (2,570 x 67 - 1,800 x 62) / (2,570 - 1,800) = 944.26 months, which is 78 years and 9 months. Claiming at 70 instead of 67 breaks even at 82 years and 6 months, and 70 instead of 62 at 80 years and 5 months.
By age 80 the totals are $388,800 (claim at 62), $400,920 (67) and $382,800 (70). By age 90 they are $604,800, $709,320 and $765,600.
What breakeven tells you and what it does not
Breakeven is a simple way to see the trade: claiming early gives you smaller checks sooner, and claiming late gives you larger checks later. If you live well past the breakeven age, waiting pays more in total. If you do not, claiming early pays more.
- It ignores taxes, which can change how much of each check you keep.
- It ignores investment returns on checks received early.
- It does not model working before full retirement age, which can reduce benefits.
- It does not include spouse or survivor benefits, which can make waiting more valuable for the higher earner.
Why you enter the benefits yourself
Benefit amounts depend on your earnings record, birth year and claiming age. The Social Security Administration publishes them for you in your online account statement. Entering your own numbers keeps the comparison accurate and avoids built in tables that go out of date.
Using the cost of living raise
Benefits usually rise with inflation once you collect them. If you enter a raise, each benefit grows once a year after it starts, so a later claim that starts higher also gets bigger raises. That moves breakeven later. In the example above, a 2.5% raise moves the 62 versus 67 breakeven to 81 years and 11 months.
Assumptions and limits
- The monthly benefits are the amounts you enter. Nothing is looked up or built in.
- Payments start in the month you reach the claiming age and continue until age 100 in the search.
- A raise, if entered, applies once a year starting 12 months after each benefit begins.
- Taxes, earnings limits, spouse and survivor benefits, and the time value of money are not modeled. This is not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best age to claim Social Security?
There is no single best age, because it depends on your health, other income, marital status and needs. Breakeven shows one piece of the picture, which is how long you would need to live for waiting to pay more in total.
Where do I find my monthly benefit at each age?
Your online my Social Security account shows estimated benefits at different claiming ages based on your record. Use those figures for the monthly amounts here.
Why does the later claim sometimes never break even?
If the later monthly amount is not higher than the earlier one, or the gap is small, the later claim does not catch up before age 100. The calculator warns you when that happens so you can check the amounts you entered.
Does a spouse change the answer?
Often yes. When one spouse dies the survivor can usually keep the larger of the two benefits, so a higher earner who waits may raise the survivor's income. That effect is not in this simple comparison.