Published: 29 October 2026 · Updated: 29 October 2026
A worker averaging $75,000 a year over 35 years gets an estimated $2,746 a month at full retirement age 67 — $1,922 at 62 or $3,405 at 70. Enter your own average earnings below.
When you claim matters more than almost anything else: 62 pays 70% of your full benefit, 67 pays 100%, 70 pays 124%. The estimator below runs the SSA's 2026 bend-point formula on your average earnings and shows all three ages side by side.
Researched by MixKhazana Team · Last updated 29 October 2026 · Data: SSA 2026 figures, Federal Register 3 November 2025 (bend points $1,286 / $7,749, COLA 2.8%)
Social Security's formula has three steps. Step one: AIME. The SSA takes your 35 highest-earning years, indexes each year's pay for national wage growth, and averages them into average indexed monthly earnings. Fewer than 35 years means zeros fill the gaps, which lowers the average. Step two: PIA. The bend-point formula turns AIME into your primary insurance amount — the benefit at full retirement age. For first eligibility in 2026 the bend points are $1,286 and $7,749: 90% of AIME up to $1,286, 32% from $1,286 to $7,749, and 15% above $7,749, rounded down to the next lower dime. The formula is progressive by design: lower earners replace a much bigger share of their pay. Step three: claiming age. With full retirement age 67 (born 1960 or later), claiming at 62 permanently cuts the benefit to 70% of PIA, while each year of delay past 67 adds 8%, reaching 124% at 70. Cost-of-living adjustments apply from the year you turn 62 whether or not you have claimed.
For scale, the SSA reports the average retired-worker benefit at about $1,976 a month after the 2.8% 2026 COLA, and the maximum benefit at full retirement age in 2026 is $4,152 a month ($5,181 at age 70) — reserved for maximum earners over 35 years. If your estimate lands far below your living costs, our retirement savings calculator and Roth IRA calculator show what personal savings must cover.
Maria averaged $75,000 a year over 35 years and has full retirement age 67:
The break-even point between claiming at 62 and at 70 is around age 80 and a half in today's dollars: live longer than that and waiting wins in total; a married higher earner's delay also raises the survivor benefit for the spouse who outlives them.
| Figure | 2026 value |
|---|---|
| First bend point | $1,286 |
| Second bend point | $7,749 |
| Full retirement age (born 1960+) | 67 |
| Benefit at 62 / 67 / 70 (FRA 67) | 70% / 100% / 124% of PIA |
| COLA 2026 | 2.8% |
| Taxable wage base | $184,500 |
| Earnings-test limits | $24,480 / $65,160 |
The SSA averages your 35 highest-earning years into average indexed monthly earnings (AIME), then applies the PIA formula: 90% of AIME up to the first bend point, 32% between the bend points, 15% above the second. For first eligibility in 2026 the bend points are $1,286 and $7,749. The result is your primary insurance amount — the benefit at full retirement age.
For workers first eligible in 2026, the bend points are $1,286 and $7,749 (Federal Register, 3 November 2025). The formula credits 90% of AIME up to $1,286, 32% of AIME from $1,286 to $7,749, and 15% above $7,749, rounded down to the next lower dime.
With a full retirement age of 67 (born 1960 or later), claiming at 62 permanently cuts your benefit to 70% of your PIA — a 30% reduction. On the $75,000 example above that means $1,922 a month at 62 versus $2,746 at 67.
Waiting from full retirement age 67 to 70 adds delayed retirement credits of 8% per year, for 124% of your PIA. On the $75,000 example above that means $3,405 a month at 70 versus $2,746 at 67.
For a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 70 instead of 62 catches up in total lifetime benefits at around age 80 and a half, in today's dollars. If you expect to live past that age, waiting pays more in total; if not, claiming early can pay more.
Full retirement age is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later. It phases from 66 to 67 for people born 1955–1959, and was 66 for those born 1943–1954.
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment is 2.8%, effective with December 2025 benefits payable in January 2026. After the COLA, the average retired-worker benefit is about $1,976 a month, and the maximum benefit at full retirement age is $4,152 a month ($5,181 at age 70).
Yes, the earnings test withholds $1 of benefits for every $2 earned above $24,480 in 2026 if you are under full retirement age all year, and $1 for every $3 above $65,160 in the year you reach full retirement age. Withheld amounts are not lost — benefits are recalculated upward at full retirement age. There is no earnings limit after full retirement age.
The bend points ($1,286 and $7,749), the 2.8% COLA, the $184,500 taxable wage base and the earnings-test limits ($24,480 and $65,160) come from the Social Security Administration's 2026 figures published in the Federal Register on 3 November 2025, and the claiming-age factors (70% at 62, 124% at 70 for FRA 67) from SSA's retirement-age rules.
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