Social Security retirement benefits: ages, amounts, and when to claim

Social Security retirement benefits are the single biggest federal benefit program in the United States, paying more than $1.5 trillion a year to over 50 million retired workers and their families. The rules are written in federal law and apply the same way everywhere in the country, but the decisions you make about when and how to file can change your monthly check by thousands of dollars a year for the rest of your life.

This section covers how your benefit is calculated, how full retirement age works, the trade-offs of claiming at 62, at full retirement age, and at 70, and the handful of details that catch most people off guard, the earnings test, taxation, spousal coordination, and withdrawing an application.

How Social Security retirement benefits are calculated

Social Security benefits are based on your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for wage inflation. The calculation happens in three steps:

1. Earnings record. SSA pulls your reported wages from every year you worked (up to the taxable maximum for that year, $176,100 in 2025). Earnings from years before you turned 60 are indexed to national average wage growth, so a $20,000 salary in 1990 counts like roughly $55,000 today.
2. AIME, Average Indexed Monthly Earnings. SSA takes your 35 highest indexed earning years, totals them, and divides by 420 (35 years × 12 months). If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zeros, which drags your average down.
3. PIA, Primary Insurance Amount. Your AIME runs through a three-part formula using the current year's bend points. In 2025, your PIA is 90% of the first $1,226 of AIME, plus 32% of AIME between $1,226 and $7,391, plus 15% of AIME above $7,391. The result is your monthly benefit at full retirement age.

That last step is why Social Security is progressive, lower earners replace a higher share of their working income than high earners do. A worker with a lifetime average of $30,000 a year typically gets a benefit equal to about half their pre-retirement pay. A high earner at the taxable maximum gets a benefit closer to 27% of pre-retirement pay.

Full retirement age by birth year

Full retirement age (FRA), sometimes called "normal retirement age", is the age at which you're entitled to 100% of your calculated benefit. It is set by your birth year under the 1983 Social Security amendments and ranges from 65 (for people born before 1938) to 67 (for anyone born in 1960 or later). Claim before FRA and your benefit is reduced. Claim after FRA and it grows, up until age 70.

Full retirement age by year of birth

Year of birth	Full retirement age
1937 or earlier	65
1938	65 and 2 months
1939	65 and 4 months
1940	65 and 6 months
1941	65 and 8 months
1942	65 and 10 months
1943–1954	66
1955	66 and 2 months
1956	66 and 4 months
1957	66 and 6 months
1958	66 and 8 months
1959	66 and 10 months
1960 and later	67

Source: Social Security Administration, Retirement Age Planner. For a deeper breakdown including claim-age percentages, see the full full retirement age page.

Claiming Social Security early, on time, or late

The single biggest decision in Social Security is when to start benefits. The earliest you can claim is age 62, and the latest benefit increase stops at age 70. Between those two points, your benefit changes every single month you wait:

• At 62, your benefit is roughly 70% of what it would be at a full retirement age of 67, a permanent 30% reduction.
• At 65, it's about 86.7% of the FRA amount.
• At 67 (full retirement age for anyone born in 1960 or later), you get 100% of your calculated benefit.
• At 70, delayed retirement credits boost your benefit to 124% of the FRA amount.

In dollar terms, the gap between claiming at 62 and waiting until 70 is often 76% or more. A worker whose FRA benefit is $2,500 a month would receive about $1,750 at 62 and about $3,100 at 70, and both amounts are then adjusted for inflation every year afterward.

When claiming Social Security early makes sense

Filing at 62 is not automatically a mistake. Claiming early tends to work out well if any of the following apply: you have a health condition that affects life expectancy, you have no other reasonable source of income and you need the check to pay bills, you are coordinating with a spouse who will take the higher benefit anyway, or you want to stop working entirely and your retirement savings can't yet cover your expenses.

When waiting until 70 makes sense

Waiting until FRA or 70 tends to work out well if you are in good health and can afford to wait, if you have longevity in your family, if you're still working and making solid income, if you are the higher-earning spouse in a couple, or if you want the largest possible inflation-protected income stream in old age. Waiting is effectively insurance against outliving your savings, the biggest guaranteed return you can get anywhere in retirement planning.

Break-even math for Social Security claim age

The break-even point between claiming at 62 and claiming at FRA is usually around age 77–79. Between FRA and age 70, it's usually around 80–82. If you live past those ages, waiting pays off; if you don't, claiming earlier does. But this is only the mathematical break-even, it does not account for Social Security's role as inflation-protected longevity insurance, which matters more than the break-even year for most retirees.

Working while collecting Social Security

You can work and collect Social Security at the same time, but if you're under full retirement age, the earnings test temporarily withholds some of your benefit based on how much you earn from wages or self-employment. Here are the 2025 rules:

• If you're under FRA for the whole year: SSA withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above $23,400.
• If you reach FRA during the year: SSA withholds $1 for every $3 you earn above $62,160, but only for earnings in months before you hit FRA.
• From the month you reach FRA onward: no earnings test at all. You can earn any amount with no effect on your Social Security check.

The earnings test is not a permanent penalty. Withheld benefits are recalculated into a higher monthly amount once you reach FRA, essentially SSA pays them back in small increments over the rest of your life. Still, if you plan to keep working past 62, filing early usually isn't as helpful as it sounds. The full earnings test limit history shows how the lower and higher limits have moved each year, and the wage base history covers the related cap on Social Security payroll tax. Your benefit calculation itself runs through the annual PIA bend points, which is where the 90/32/15 progressive formula lives.

Taxation of Social Security benefits

Social Security benefits are partially taxable at the federal level. To find out whether yours are, SSA uses a measure called combined income: your adjusted gross income, plus tax-exempt interest, plus half of your Social Security benefits.

• Single filer with combined income under $25,000 ($32,000 for couples): benefits are not taxed.
• $25,000–$34,000 ($32,000–$44,000 for couples): up to 50% of benefits may be taxable.
• Over $34,000 ($44,000 for couples): up to 85% of benefits may be taxable.

These thresholds are not indexed to inflation, so more retirees pay tax on their benefits every year. A handful of states also tax Social Security, though most do not.

How to apply for Social Security retirement

You can file for retirement benefits up to four months before you want them to start. Three ways to file:

1. Online at ssa.gov/apply, the fastest option for most people.
2. By phone at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
3. In person at your nearest Social Security field office. Appointments are strongly recommended. Find your local office.

What to bring if you apply in person

• Certified birth certificate or proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Photo ID (state-issued driver's license, state ID, or passport).
• W-2 forms or self-employment tax returns for the most recent year.
• Bank routing and account numbers for direct deposit.
• Marriage certificates if you are also filing for spousal benefits.
• Military discharge papers if you served in the armed forces.

Common Social Security mistakes to avoid

• Claiming at 62 without checking the numbers first. Most people can do better by waiting, but not everyone. Run your own estimate before you commit.
• Forgetting the earnings test. If you're still working and under FRA, claiming early can mean your check gets withheld anyway.
• Ignoring spousal coordination. In a two-earner couple, the higher earner often benefits most from waiting to age 70, because that larger check becomes the survivor benefit.
• Not creating a my Social Security account. It's free, and it shows you your actual earnings record and benefit estimates. Many people discover missing years or errors only after logging in.
• Confusing FRA with the age Medicare starts. Medicare eligibility begins at 65 regardless of when your Social Security FRA is.