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Social Security Claiming Age Comparison

Compare claiming Social Security early, at full retirement age, or delayed to see monthly benefits and lifetime totals with COLA assumptions.

Results

Monthly benefit at claim age
$1,400
Lifetime benefits (to entered age)
$484,595

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter your PIA (monthly benefit at FRA) and your full retirement age.
  2. Choose the age you plan to claim (62–70), a COLA assumption, and an age to project benefits to.
  3. See monthly benefit at claim age, lifetime benefits, and scenarios for 62/FRA/70.

Inputs explained

PIA
Your estimated monthly benefit at full retirement age (from your SSA statement).
COLA
Annual cost-of-living adjustment you want to assume for projections.
Longevity age
Age you want to project benefits through for lifetime totals.

How it works

Starts from your PIA (benefit at full retirement age).

Applies an approximate early reduction of 0.5% per month before FRA and delayed retirement credits of ~0.67% per month after FRA up to age 70.

Projects monthly benefits out to your longevity age with the entered annual COLA and sums lifetime benefits.

Also shows comparison scenarios for claiming at 62, FRA, and 70.

When to use it

  • Comparing the trade-off between claiming early vs waiting for a higher monthly check.
  • Illustrating lifetime benefit differences across claiming ages with COLA assumptions.

Tips & cautions

  • Test multiple longevity ages; the longer you live, the more delaying can pay off.
  • Use your latest SSA PIA estimate for accuracy.
  • Uses simplified monthly reduction/credit factors; does not model earnings tests or taxation of benefits.
  • Real-world benefits depend on SSA rules, bend points, and earnings history.

Deep dive

Compare Social Security claiming ages (62, FRA, 70) to see monthly benefits and lifetime totals with your COLA assumption.

Enter PIA, claiming age, COLA, and longevity age to estimate how early vs delayed claiming changes your Social Security payout.

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