- Use your earnings history to calculate your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME).
- Use your AIME to calculate your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA).
- Use your PIA and adjust it for the age you will begin benefits. 1
Full Answer
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 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 you calculate SSA benefits?
- The SSA starts with $735.
- The only income you receive each month is $400 from a part-time babysitting job.
- The SSA ignores the first $65 of that each month, as well as half of the rest. ($400 – $65) x 0.50 = $167.50.
- So the SSA deducts the remaining $167.50 of your babysitting dollars from $735.
- You receive a grand total of $567.50 for SSI.
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 much will Social Security pay me at 65?
If you start collecting your benefits at age 65 you could receive approximately $33,773 per year or $2,814 per month.
What is the formula for calculating my Social Security benefits?
Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) Up to 35 years of earnings are needed to compute average indexed monthly earnings. After we determine the number of years, we choose those years with the highest indexed earnings, sum such indexed earnings, and divide the total amount by the total number of months in those years.
Is Social Security based on the last 5 years of work?
A: Your Social Security payment is based on your best 35 years of work. And, whether we like it or not, if you don't have 35 years of work, the Social Security Administration (SSA) still uses 35 years and posts zeros for the missing years, says Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story, 2016 Edition.
How much Social Security will I get if I make 60000 a year?
That adds up to $2,096.48 as a monthly benefit if you retire at full retirement age. Put another way, Social Security will replace about 42% of your past $60,000 salary. That's a lot better than the roughly 26% figure for those making $120,000 per year.
How much Social Security will I get if I make $80000 a year?
Initial Social Security retirement benefits by age and income levelAnnual Income (Inflation-Adjusted)Age 6266 Years, 4 Months (FRA)$70,000$1,695$2,312$80,000$1,787$2,437$90,000$1,879$2,562$100,000$1,970$2,6875 more rows•Aug 21, 2018
At what age is Social Security no longer taxed?
At 65 to 67, depending on the year of your birth, you are at full retirement age and can get full Social Security retirement benefits tax-free.
What is the highest Social Security payment?
The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $3,345. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $2,364. If you retire at age 70 in 2022, your maximum benefit would be $4,194.
How much Social Security will I get if I make $40000?
Those who make $40,000 pay taxes on all of their income into the Social Security system. It takes more than three times that amount to max out your Social Security payroll taxes. The current tax rate is 6.2%, so you can expect to see $2,480 go directly from your paycheck toward Social Security.
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.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking your retirement benefits before your full retirement age?
The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is your benefit will be reduced. Each person's situation is different.
What happens if you delay your retirement?
If you delay your benefits until after full retirement age, you will be eligible for delayed retirement credits that would increase your monthly benefit. That there are other things to consider when making the decision about when to begin receiving your retirement benefits.
Is it better to collect your retirement benefits before retirement?
There are advantages and disadvantages to taking your benefit before your full retirement age. The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is your benefit will be reduced. Each person's situation is different.
How long do you have to be a resident to get Social Security?
At a minimum, the applicant must: Be a citizen or permanent legal alien with at least 10 years of residence in the United States. Have a qualifying work history, which includes at least 40 work credits earned over at least 10 years of employment, during which the applicant made regular contributions to Social Security.
How does the amount you get each month affect your Social Security?
The amount you get each month is also influenced by the age when you first sign up for retirement benefits. As a rule, your benefits get closer to the federal award cap the more you’ve earned from work and the later you sign up for a Social Security pension.
What is the most widely known benefit of the SSA?
The most widely known benefit the SSA administers is the retirement pension system . More than 64 million older adults receive a monthly payment from this program, and for many people it's the main or even sole source of support after retirement. Beneficiaries generally become eligible for Social Security pensions at age 62, though the monthly award amount is higher for seniors who delay their retirement age, with the maximum benefit being available at age 67.
How much will Social Security pay in 2021?
For example, a worker who retired at age 62 in 1988 with minimal Social Security taxes withheld would have earned an initial benefit of $691 a month, which in 2021 was set at $1,546 a month. At the other extreme, a worker who made maximum payroll contributions from age 21 and retired at age 70 would, in 2021, earn a maximum of $3,895 a month.
Who pays Social Security benefits?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays benefits to eligible seniors, their dependents and survivors and people with certain medical conditions. Though there is some overlap between these groups, the support programs intended for each are separately administered and each has its own eligibility requirements.
Can a widowed spouse get Social Security?
If you are the widowed spouse or dependent child of a Social Security recipient, you might be eligible for benefits yourself. The SSA pays tens of millions of Americans a monthly benefit based on their relationship to a formerly eligible beneficiary who has passed away.
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 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 ...
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 .
What age do you get FRA?
This is the amount you will get if you start benefits at your Full Retirement Age (FRA). Your FRA can vary depending on the year you were born. For people born between 1943 and 1954, as in our example, the FRA is age 66. For people born on Jan. 1, the FRA is based on the year prior.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Is Social Security a tax?
You may hear people grumbling about the Social Security “Earnings Tax”, but it’s not really a tax. It’s a deferment of your benefits designed to keep you from spending too much too soon. And after you hit your full retirement age, you can work to your heart’s content without any reduction in your benefits.
What does it mean to take Social Security early?
When you elect to take benefits early, you make a permanent choice—meaning that your benefits are reduced over the course of your lifetime, not just until full retirement age. Your Social Security break-even age is the point in your life when the total of those lower benefits comes to equal the total of benefits you would have received ...
What is the Social Security retirement age for 2022?
For example, if you were born in 1960, your full retirement age is 67. If you choose to begin receiving Social Security income at age 62 , which will be in 2022, your full retirement age benefit will be reduced by 30%, Assuming that full monthly benefit would be $1,000, you will be left with a monthly Social Security check of only $700. 1 .
How much do coworkers get in retirement?
If a coworker with the same birth date and similar earnings history elects to receive their benefit at full retirement age five years later, their benefit will be $1,000 each month. 1 For the first five years, you received a total of $42,000 (or $8,400 per year), while your coworker received nothing, so you are ahead.
How long can you defer Social Security?
Those who are able to defer taking Social Security income until after full retirement age are given a delayed retirement credit each year past that age until age 70, equivalent to an annual 8% increase for people born in 1943 or later. 3 Waiting until 70 creates the fewest number of checks received, but results in a much higher monthly benefit.
When will my coworker catch up to me in Social Security?
The answer is when you are both 78 years and eight months, or 11.67 years ($42,000 ÷ $3,600) after your full retirement age.
Is the break even age for Social Security the same as the age of retirement?
Still, the break-even age—the age when total Social Security income from two retirement options is the same—can be good to know, as external factors may affect the actual worth of benefits received. These include inflation as measured by annual cost-of-living increases, the time value of money, probable investment returns, and marginal tax rates.
Why is it important to have a Social Security age of 65?
But the main reason it pays to consider 65 as your Social Security filing age is that it's a middle-ground solution.
What happens if you file Social Security at 65?
If you settle on 65 as your filing age, you'll be limiting your longevity risk, all the while ensuring that you don't wind up with the maximum reduction in benefits you might face. Of course, there's one small advantage to claiming Social Security in conjunction with Medicare.
What age do you have to be to get Social Security?
Many seniors rush to claim Social Security as soon as they're able -- so much so that 62 is actually the most common age to sign up for benefits. A much smaller percentage of seniors wait until 70 to collect benefits, and in doing so, they lock in a higher monthly sum for life. Image source: Getty Images.
Is it a good age to claim Social Security?
It's for this reason that 65 may be a great age to claim your benefits; it's a nice compromise.