Step 1: Calculate Your Monthly Earnings
- Calculate Your Monthly Earnings Your Social Security benefit calculation starts by looking at how long you worked and how much you made each year. ...
- Calculate Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) Once you have calculated your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME), you'll plug that number into a formula to determine your Primary Insurance ...
- Adjust Your PIA for the Age You Will Begin Benefits
How do I estimate my SS Benefits?
You may want to may want to consider using my company's software — Maximize My Social Security or MaxiFi Planner — to ensure your household receives the highest lifetime benefits. Social Security calculators provided by other companies or non-profits may provide proper suggestions if they were built with extreme care. Best, Larry
How to calculate your projected Social Security benefit?
- For every dollar of average indexed monthly earnings up to $926, you’ll get 90 cents per month in benefits.
- For every dollar of average indexed monthly earnings between $927 and $5,583 you’ll get $.32 cents per month in benefits.
- For every dollar of average indexed monthly earnings beyond $5,583 you’ll get $.15 cents per month in benefits.
How do you estimate Social Security benefits?
You can use your account to request a replacement Social Security benefits card, check the status of an existing application, estimate how many future benefits you’ll receive or manage the ones you are already getting. One of the most important reasons ...
How do I determine my social security benefit?
Try refreshing the page. Today's Social Security column addresses questions about how Social Security spousal benefits are calculated, whether it's necessary to file in January to get a given year's COLA and what effects of benefits rates not paying taxes can have.
Benefit Calculators
The best way to start planning for your future is by creating a my Social Security account online. With my Social Security, you can verify your earnings, get your Social Security Statement, and much more – all from the comfort of your home or office.
Online Benefits Calculator
These tools can be accurate but require access to your official earnings record in our database. The simplest way to do that is by creating or logging in to your my Social Security account. The other way is to answer a series of questions to prove your identity.
Additional Online Tools
Find your full retirement age and learn how your monthly benefits may be reduced if you retire before your full retirement age.
What is the benefit estimate?
Benefit estimates depend on your date of birth and on your earnings history. For security, the "Quick Calculator" does not access your earnings record; instead, it will estimate your earnings based on information you provide. So benefit estimates made by the Quick Calculator are rough. Although the "Quick Calculator" makes an initial assumption ...
How old do you have to be to file for Social Security?
You must be at least age 22 to use the form at right. Lack of a substantial earnings history will cause retirement benefit estimates to be unreliable. Enter your date of birth ( month / day / year format) / /. Enter earnings in the current year: $. Your annual earnings must be earnings covered by Social Security.
How old do you have to be to use Quick Calculator?
You must be at least age 22 to use the form at right.
What happens if you don't give a retirement date?
If you do not give a retirement date and if you have not reached your normal (or full) retirement age, the Quick Calculator will give benefit estimates for three different retirement ages .
What is the formula for Social Security benefits?
The Social Security benefits formula is designed to replace a higher proportion of income for low-income earners than for high-income earners. To do this, the formula has what are called “bend points." These bend points are adjusted for inflation each year.
How is Social Security decided?
Your Social Security benefit is decided based on your lifetime earnings and the age you retire and begin taking payments. Your lifetime earnings are converted to a monthly average based on the 35 years in which you earned the most, adjusted for inflation. Those earnings are converted to a monthly insurance payment based on your full retirement age.
What is wage indexing?
Social Security uses a process called wage indexing to determine how to adjust your earnings history for inflation. Each year, Social Security publishes the national average wages for the year. You can see this published list on the National Average Wage Index page. 3 .
Is Social Security higher at age 70?
If you have already had most of your 35 years of earnings, and you are near 62 today, the age 70 benefit amount you see on your Social Security statement will likely be higher due to these cost of living adjustments .
Can you calculate inflation rate at 60?
Until you know the average wages for the year you turn 60, there is no way to do an exact calculation. However, you could attribute an assumed inflation rate to average wages to estimate the average wages going forward and use those to create an estimate.
How long do you have to be a Social Security employee to get full benefits?
Anyone who pays into Social Security for at least 40 calendar quarters (10 years) is eligible for retirement benefits based on their earnings record. You are eligible for your full benefits once you reach full retirement age, which is either 66 and 67, depending on when you were born.
How does Social Security affect retirement?
Social Security benefits in retirement are impacted by three main criteria: the year you were born, the age you plan on electing (begin taking) benefits and your annual income in your working years. First we take your annual income and we adjust it by the Average Wage Index (AWI), to get your indexed earnings.
What age do you have to be to claim Social Security?
If you claim Social Security benefits early and then continue working, you’ll be subject to what’s called the Retirement Earnings Test. If you’re between age 62 and your full retirement age, and you’re claiming benefits, you need to know about the Earnings Test Exempt Amount, a threshold that changes yearly.
How long do I have to work to get Social Security?
To get your social security benefits we do a couple things. First we assume that you have or will work for 35 years before electing social security benefits (this is needed to calculate your benefits) We then take your income and we adjust it by the Average Wage Index (AWI), to account for the rise in the standard of living during your working ...
How much will Social Security be in 2052?
starting in 2052 at age 66: $48,771. The earliest you can begin receiving benefits is at age 62. Spouse's annual Social Security benefit. The earliest you can begin receiving benefits is at age 62. Social Security Benefits Accounting for Inflation: 1st year of benefits through age 95.
Is Social Security income taxable?
If you have a lot of income from other sources, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits will be considered taxable income. If the combination of your Social Security benefits and other income is below $25,000, your benefits won’t be taxed at all. The amount of your benefits that is subject to taxes is calculated on a sliding scale based on your ...
Does Social Security protect against inflation?
That means the retirement income you collect from Social Security has built-in protection against inflation. For many people, Social Security is the only form of retirement income they have that is directly linked to inflation. It’s a big perk that doesn’t get a lot of attention.
What is the benefit estimate?
Benefit estimates depend on your date of birth and on your earnings history. For security, the "Quick Calculator" does not access your earnings record; instead, it will estimate your earnings based on information you provide. So benefit estimates made by the Quick Calculator are rough. Although the "Quick Calculator" makes an initial assumption ...
How old do you have to be to file for Social Security?
You must be at least age 22 to use the form at right. Lack of a substantial earnings history will cause retirement benefit estimates to be unreliable. Enter your date of birth ( month / day / year format) / /. Enter earnings in the current year: $. Your annual earnings must be earnings covered by Social Security.
How old do you have to be to use Quick Calculator?
You must be at least age 22 to use the form at right.
What happens if you don't give a retirement date?
If you do not give a retirement date and if you have not reached your normal (or full) retirement age, the Quick Calculator will give benefit estimates for three different retirement ages .
Retirement Age Calculator
Find out your full retirement age, which is when you become eligible for unreduced Social Security retirement benefits. The year and month you reach full retirement age depends on the year you were born.
Why Did the Full Retirement Age Change?
Full retirement age, also called "normal retirement age," was 65 for many years. In 1983, Congress passed a law to gradually raise the age because people are living longer and are generally healthier in older age.
