# My Social Security break even age?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/social-security-break-even-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/social-security-break-even-calculator.json
- Version: f634d10eb99e

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| born | Year of birth | The year you were born (use the year before if you were born on 1 January), 1943 or later. |
| pia | Benefit at full retirement age | Your primary insurance amount (PIA): the monthly benefit at full retirement age, from your SSA statement. |
| early | Earlier claiming age | The first claiming age to compare, in whole years from 62 to 70. |
| late | Later claiming age | The second, later claiming age to compare, in whole years from 62 to 70. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| breakEven | Break-even age | The age at which the later claim’s total payments equal the earlier claim’s. |
| breakEvenYears | Break-even age in years | The break-even age as a decimal number of years. |
| earlyBenefit | Monthly benefit, earlier claim | The PIA reduced or raised for the earlier age, down to the dollar. |
| lateBenefit | Monthly benefit, later claim | The PIA reduced or raised for the later age, down to the dollar. |
| headStart | Paid before the later claim starts | What the earlier claim pays before the later claim’s first payment. |

## 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).

## Assumptions

- 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.

## Worked examples

1. born = 1960, pia = $1,000.00, early = 62, late = 70 gives earlyBenefit = $700.00, lateBenefit = $1,240.00, breakEven = 80 years and 5 months, breakEvenYears = 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. born = 1960, pia = $2,000.00, early = 62, late = 67 gives earlyBenefit = $1,400.00, lateBenefit = $2,000.00, headStart = $84,000.00, breakEvenYears = 78.666667.
3. born = 1955, pia = $1,500.00, early = 66, late = 70 gives earlyBenefit = $1,483.00, lateBenefit = $1,960.00, breakEven = 82 years and 6 months, breakEvenYears = 82.436059. Source: SSA: born 1955, full retirement age 66 and 2 months.

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- Social Security Administration, Benefit Reduction for Early Retirement: https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/earlyretire.html
- Social Security Administration, Delayed Retirement Credits: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html