acalculator

My Social Security break even age?

Enter your benefit at full retirement age and two claiming ages to see when waiting pays off: the break-even age at which both choices have paid the same in total.

Your numbers

Break-even age
80 years and 5 months

Claiming at 70 instead of 62 pays $2,480.00 a month instead of $1,400.00; the totals are equal at 80 years and 5 months.

Break-even age in years
80.37
Monthly benefit, earlier claim
$1,400.00
Monthly benefit, later claim
$2,480.00
Paid before the later claim starts
$134,400.00
Years
39

Break-even age: 80 years and 5 months. Claiming at 70 instead of 62 pays $2,480.00 a month instead of $1,400.00; the totals are equal at 80 years and 5 months.

When does the later claim catch up?

What has each claim paid by each age?

The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use

How to calculate

Compares two Social Security claiming ages and finds the break-even age at which the later, larger benefit has paid as much in total as the earlier, smaller one.

Example with the default inputs (Year of birth 1964, Benefit at full retirement age $2,000.00, Earlier claiming age 62, Later claiming age 70): Claiming at 70 instead of 62 pays $2,480.00 a month instead of $1,400.00; the totals are equal at 80 years and 5 months.

Method: Benefit at each age = PIA × early reduction or delayed credits (SSA), down to the dollar; break-even age t solves b₁ × (t − s₁) = b₂ × (t − s₂): t = (b₂s₂ − b₁s₁) ÷ (b₂ − b₁).

  • Both claims use the same PIA in today’s dollars; cost-of-living adjustments raise both and are left out.
  • Payments are counted in whole months from the claiming birthday; interest, investment returns and taxes are not included.
  • Delayed retirement credits of 8% a year (born 1943 or later); a January 1 birthday counts as the year before.
  • Spousal and survivor benefits, which can change the best age for a married couple, are not included.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Year of birth 1960, Benefit at full retirement age $1,000.00, Earlier claiming age 62, Later claiming age 70 gives Monthly benefit, earlier claim $700.00, Monthly benefit, later claim $1,240.00, Break-even age 80 years and 5 months, Break-even age in years 80.37037.Source: SSA early retirement table ($700 at 62) and delayed credits ($1,240 at 70) for a $1,000 PIA, born 1960
  2. Year of birth 1960, Benefit at full retirement age $2,000.00, Earlier claiming age 62, Later claiming age 67 gives Monthly benefit, earlier claim $1,400.00, Monthly benefit, later claim $2,000.00, Paid before the later claim starts $84,000.00, Break-even age in years 78.666667.
  3. Year of birth 1955, Benefit at full retirement age $1,500.00, Earlier claiming age 66, Later claiming age 70 gives Monthly benefit, earlier claim $1,483.00, Monthly benefit, later claim $1,960.00, Break-even age 82 years and 6 months, Break-even age in years 82.436059.Source: SSA: born 1955, full retirement age 66 and 2 months

How it works

1. Full retirement age (FRA) from the year of birth: 66 for 1943 to 1954; 66 and 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 months for 1955 to 1959; 67 for 1960 and later. A 1 January birthday counts as the year before.

2. Monthly benefit at each claiming age. A claim at age a whole years starts at s = 12a months of age. With k = s − FRA in months and PIA P:

  • Early (k < 0): P × (1 − (5/9 %) × min(−k, 36) − (5/12 %) × (−k − 36, not below 0)).
  • Late (k ≥ 0): P × (1 + (2/3 %) × k), with credits only up to age 70.

Each benefit is rounded down to the whole dollar: b₁ for the earlier age s₁ and b₂ for the later age s₂.

3. Totals. At age t months, the earlier claim has paid b₁ × (t − s₁) and the later claim b₂ × (t − s₂) (0 before each claim starts). The table shows both at the end of each year of age, t = 12 × (age + 1), from 62 to 100.

4. Break-even age. The totals are equal at t = (b₂ × s₂ − b₁ × s₁) ÷ (b₂ − b₁) months. The page shows t ÷ 12 in years, and the years and months with t rounded up to the next whole month. If b₂ is not larger than b₁, there is no break-even age. A later claiming age that is not after the earlier one gives no answer.

Paid before the later claim starts = b₁ × (s₂ − s₁).

Assumptions

  • Today’s dollars: cost-of-living adjustments, interest and taxes are left out.
  • Spousal and survivor benefits are not included.

Worked examples by hand

$1,000 PIA, born 1960, 62 against 70. FRA 67 (804 months). At 62: 60 months early, $700. At 70: 36 months late, 1.24 × 1,000 = $1,240. t = (1,240 × 840 − 700 × 744) ÷ 540 = 520,800 ÷ 540 = 964.44 months = 80.37 years; rounded up, 80 years and 5 months.

$2,000 PIA, born 1960, 62 against 67. $1,400 against $2,000. Before 67 the early claim pays 1,400 × 60 = $84,000. t = (2,000 × 804 − 1,400 × 744) ÷ 600 = 944 months = 78 years and 8 months.

$1,500 PIA, born 1955, 66 against 70. FRA 66 and 2 months (794 months). At 66: 2 months early, 1,500 × (1 − 10/900) = 1,483.33, down to $1,483. At 70: 46 months late, 1,500 × (1 + 92/300) = $1,960. t = (1,960 × 840 − 1,483 × 792) ÷ 477 = 989.23 months = 82.44 years, 82 years and 6 months rounded up.

Other questions people ask

What is the Social Security break-even age?

It is the age at which the total paid by a later, larger benefit equals the total paid by an earlier, smaller one. If you live past it, waiting paid more in total; if not, claiming early did. For a claim at 62 against 70 with a full retirement age of 67, it is about 80 years and 5 months.

Why does the later claim pay more each month?

Claiming before full retirement age reduces the benefit by 5/9 of 1% a month for up to 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for each month more (30% at 62 with a full retirement age of 67). Waiting past full retirement age adds 2/3 of 1% a month, 8% a year, up to 70.

Should I claim at the break-even age?

The break-even age is one input, not an answer. Health and family longevity, whether you still work (the earnings test), other savings, taxes and a spouse’s survivor benefit all matter. A higher earner’s delayed claim also raises the survivor benefit a widow or widower gets.

Do cost-of-living adjustments change the break-even age?

COLAs raise both benefits by the same percent, so both totals grow; this page leaves them out and works in today’s dollars. Counting investment returns on early benefits would push the break-even age later.