Retirement · Calculator

Social Security break-even:
62, 67, or 70?

Claim at 62 for a smaller benefit over more years, or wait until 70 for a larger benefit over fewer years. Enter your estimated benefit to compare the crossover point.

The question it answersShould I claim Social Security at 62, 67, or 70?

Rules: United States. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device unless you copy a share link, which puts your inputs in the link.

Looking for something close? Social Security Bridge: the IRA withdrawals needed to cover the gap if you retire at full retirement age but delay claiming to 70.

Find at ssa.gov/myaccount.

Real return assumed on every check once received, whichever age you claim. Early checks arrive first, so a higher return favors claiming early.

CLAIM AT 62
$0
/month
$0/year
CLAIM AT FRA (67)
$0
/month
$0/year
CLAIM AT 70
$0
/month
$0/year
BREAK-EVEN AGES

These calculations use current SSASocial Security Administration (SSA)The federal agency that manages Social Security retirement, disability, and survivor benefit programs. rules. Rules can change via legislation. Verify reduction and credit percentages at ssa.gov before making a claiming decision.

Estimate, not tax or legal advice. It applies the current rules listed in the assumptions to the numbers you enter. Details this tool does not model can change the result.

What this tool assumes
  • Benefit amounts scale from the FRA benefit you enter; actual benefit depends on your earnings record.
  • Claiming at 62 vs Full Retirement Age vs 70 changes the monthly benefit by roughly -30% / +24% at the default inputs (reduction % entered, and the credit % entered for each year from full retirement age to 70).
  • Full retirement age is 67 (born on or after January 2, 1960). People born January 2, 1943 through January 1, 1960 have a full retirement age of 66 plus 0 to 10 months, which this tool does not model.
  • Inputs must be in range: a benefit above $0, a reduction from 0 to 50%, and a credit and return from 0 to 15%. A blank or out-of-range entry shows a message and no result; nothing is adjusted for you.
  • Benefits arrive monthly and every check, from any claiming age, grows at the return you enter once received. No COLAs, taxes or earnings test.

Not financial advice. US Social Security rules. Your actual benefit depends on earnings history.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server.

  • Benefit at 62 = FRA benefit × (1 − reduction %). The 30% default is the reduction when full retirement age is 67, which applies to anyone born on or after January 2, 1960[3]: 36 months × 5/9 of 1% plus 24 months × 5/12 of 1%[4].
  • Benefit at 67 = the FRA benefit you enter. Benefit at 70 = FRA benefit × (1 + 3 × credit %). The 8% default is the delayed retirement credit of 2/3 of 1% a month, earned until 70[5].
  • Inputs are checked first: the benefit must be above $0, the reduction 0 to 50%, and the credit and return 0 to 15%. A blank or out-of-range entry stops the calculation with a message naming the field; no value is clamped or replaced.
  • Break-even: stepping one month at a time to age 100, both running totals grow by the return ÷ 12 and add that month's check, each from its own claiming age. The break-even is the first age, from the later claim's first check on, where the later claim's total catches the earlier one, or “never” by 100 (also “never” when the later check is not larger). A higher return pushes it later. The chart plots the same monthly running totals at each whole age from 62 to 90, counting that month's check.
  • Full retirement age comes from the reduction at 62 you enter, by SSA's rule of 5/9 of 1% a month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1% after that: 30% means 67, 25% means 66, 27.5% means 66 and 6 months. The claim ages stay 62, 67 and 70; the claim at 67 includes the credit for any months past full retirement age, and the claim at 70 includes every year of credit from full retirement age. Anyone born January 2, 1943 through January 1, 1960 has a full retirement age of 66 plus 0 to 10 months[3] (a January 1, 1960 birthday falls in the earlier group), so enter the reduction for your birth year.

Not modeled: COLAs, income tax on benefits, the earnings test before full retirement age, spousal and survivor benefits, and full retirement ages other than 67. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.

Where to go from here

Read next

SS Claiming Strategy

Claiming at 62 vs 67 vs 70 can mean $200,000+ difference in lifetime benefits.

Explore further
  • Social Security SolvencyCBO projects the retirement fund depletes around 2032 with a 23% automatic cut absent action.
  • Social Security BridgeShows break-even age, lifetime benefit difference, and the IRA cost of bridging income while delaying Social Security to 70.

Sources

Bracketed numbers and verify badges in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. Social Security Administration, SSA early-retirement reduction ↩
  2. Social Security Administration, SSA delayed retirement credits ↩
  3. U.S. Government Publishing Office, 20 CFR 404.409: What is full retirement age?. Checked 2026-09-26. ↩
  4. U.S. Government Publishing Office, 20 CFR 404.410: How does SSA reduce my old-age benefits?. Checked 2026-09-26. ↩
  5. U.S. Government Publishing Office, 20 CFR 404.313: What are delayed retirement credits and how do they increase my old-age benefit amount?. Checked 2026-09-26. ↩

Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed