How Much Social Security Will I Get?

Independent calculator. Not the Social Security Administration or any government website.

2027 figures · SSA’s formula · worked out in your browser

How much Social Security will I get?

SSA estimates the average retired worker gets $2,170 a month from January 2027, up from $2,095 before the 3.6% increase. Yours depends on your 35 best years of pay and the age you start. Type your date of birth and pay: the board shows your monthly amount at every age from 62 to 70.

Written by Editorial Team Reviewed by Ethan Wright, Enrolled Agent (has advised clients on when to claim Social Security since 2011) Edited by Piyush Choudhary (12+ years in US benefits content) Published by PVV Media Technologies Last reviewed November 7, 2026

A departure board of monthly Social Security for someone born in 1966 who earned $60,000 a year in today's money: $1,673 at 62, $2,377 at full retirement age (67) and $2,947 at 70
Born 1966, $60,000 a year in today’s money: $1,673 a month at 62, $2,377 at 67, $2,947 at 70.

Your details

Date of birth

If you have stopped working, your pay in your last full year, in today’s money.

When you started and stop working
Use my real earnings record

Sign in at my Social Security, open your Earnings Record, select the whole table and paste it here. Or download your Statement data there and open the file.

    Years after your record, and a year SSA has not posted yet, use the yearly pay above until the age you stop working. Clear the pay box if you no longer work.

    Your record stays in this browser tab. Nothing is sent, saved or kept: close the tab and it is gone.

    The earnings-record box needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser. The estimate above uses your pay instead.

    The answer changes as you type.
    Your monthly benefit by starting ageIn today’s dollars
    Your estimated monthly benefit at each age you could start, from 62 to 70
    AgeFromMonthlyOf fullPaid by 85Status
    62JUL 2028$1,67370.4%$460,075EARLY
    63JUN 2029$1,78275%$470,448EARLY
    64JUN 2030$1,90180%$479,052EARLY
    65JUN 2031$2,06086.7%$494,400EARLY
    66JUN 2032$2,21893.3%$505,704EARLY
    67JUN 2033$2,377100%$513,432FULL
    68JUN 2034$2,567108%$523,668LATER
    69JUN 2035$2,757116%$529,344LATER
    70JUN 2036$2,947124%$530,460MAXIMUM

    At 62 (from July 2028) you would get about $1,673 a month; at your full retirement age of 67, $2,377; at 70, $2,947.

    Waiting from 62 to full retirement age pays more in total from age 78 and 9 months. Waiting from full retirement age to 70 pays more from age 82 and 7 months. Waiting from 62 all the way to 70 pays more from age 80 and 5 months.

    If lawmakers change nothing: the Trustees’ 2026 reports project that from the fourth quarter of 2032 the retirement and survivors fund can pay 78% of the checks today’s law schedules, falling to 62% by 2100 (the Trustees’ summary). Each monthly check above would then be:

    • Started at 62: about $1,304
    • Started at full retirement age: about $1,854
    • Started at 70: about $2,298

    The amounts are in today’s dollars. Future cost-of-living increases are not added, and for anyone turning 62 after 2027, neither is future wage growth: if prices and wages keep rising, your actual checks will be larger in dollars than these. “Paid by 85” adds up every monthly check from the first to that birthday, at the amounts today’s law schedules. Estimates by SSA’s published formula, before Medicare premiums and tax. Your exact record is at my Social Security.

    How this was worked out
    1. Your earnings (today’s pay, $60,000 a year, and the same pay in past years, adjusted to each year’s average wage) gives 45 years with earnings. That is 180 credits by full retirement age (40 are needed).
    2. Earnings before 2025 are indexed to 2025 wage levels with SSA’s national average wage index. The highest 35 years, divided by 420 months: an average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) of $5,000.
    3. The benefit formula for 2027: 90% of the first $1,340, 32% from $1,340 to $8,077 and 15% above, down to the dime: a primary insurance amount (PIA) of $2,377.20.
    4. You turn 62 after 2027, so this is in today’s dollars: the newest formula and wage index SSA has published, with no guess at future inflation or pay rises.
    5. At 62 the PIA is cut by 29.58% (5/9 of 1% for each of the first 36 months before 67 and 5/12 of 1% for each month before that); at 70 it grows by 24% (2/3 of 1% for each month after full retirement age). Each amount is rounded down to the dollar.

      Sources (Social Security Administration unless named): Primary Insurance Amount; National Average Wage Index; Benefit as a percentage of PIA at ages 62 to 70 (early or delayed retirement); Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information. Checked November 7, 2026.

      On November 7, 2026, Ethan Wright checked this page’s benefit formula and rounding, the 2027 figures against SSA’s fact sheet, the early and delayed percentages, and the trust-fund summary. They’re paid a flat fee per review and have no stake in when you claim.

      Your earnings record never leaves your browser, and nothing you type is stored (privacy policy). How the calculators work Corrections Contact

      How is my Social Security worked out?

      Social Security adds up the pay you were taxed on, year by year, lifts each year before the year you turn 60 to that year’s wage levels, and averages your highest 35 years. Missing years count as zero. That average, by the month, is your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). A three-step formula turns it into your primary insurance amount (PIA): the monthly benefit at your full retirement age. The age you start then moves it down or up (SSA’s worked examples).

      From your paychecks to your check
      1. Your pay, every yearEach year’s earnings that paid Social Security tax
      2. CappedOnly pay up to each year’s taxable maximum counts ($192,300 in 2027)
      3. IndexedPay before the year you turn 60 is lifted to that year’s wage levels
      4. Best 35 yearsThe 35 highest years count; missing years count as zero
      5. AIMETheir total ÷ 420 months, down to the dollar
      6. PIA90% of the first $1,340, 32% up to $8,077, 15% above
      7. COLAsEvery cost-of-living increase from the year you turn 62
      8. Your age at the startLess before full retirement age, more up to 70
      9. Your checkRounded down to the dollar

      The formula gives back more of a small wage than of a large one. For someone born in 1966 who earned $60,000 a year in today’s money from 22, the board works out an AIME of $5,000 and a full benefit of $2,377 a month. At $120,000 a year, double the pay, the full benefit is $3,650: far less than double. How the formula works, step by step.

      The 2027 numbers

      SSA announced its figures for 2027 on October 14, 2026. These are the ones that decide what you get and what you can earn.

      • Cost-of-living increase for 20273.6%SSA
      • Average retired worker, January 2027$2,170SSA
      • Most at full retirement age, 2027$4,188SSA
      • Most at 70, starting January 2027$5,358SSA
      • Pay taxed for Social Security, 2027$192,300SSA
      • Earnings limit under full retirement age$25,560SSA
      • Earnings for one credit (40 needed)$1,970SSA
      • Full retirement age, born 1960 or later67SSA

      Benefits rise by the 3.6% increase from the payment for December, paid in January; SSI from December 31, 2026 (SSA). What the increase means for your check.

      When should I start Social Security?

      Starting at 62 pays less each month for longer; waiting to 70 pays more each month for fewer years. In the board’s example (born 1966, $60,000), 62 pays $1,673, full retirement age $2,377 and 70 $2,947 a month. Counted up to age 85, that is $460,075, $513,432 and $530,460.

      One benefit, nine starting ages (full retirement age 67; each age from the month you reach it)
      1. 6270% of the full amount
      2. 6375%
      3. 6480%
      4. 6586.67%
      5. 6693.33%
      6. 67100%: full retirement age
      7. 68108%
      8. 69116%
      9. 70124%: no more credits after 70

      The map counts each age from the month you reach it, so 62 is exactly 70%. Benefits at 62 can start only in a month you are 62 for the whole month, so for most birthdays the first check comes a month later and is a little larger: in the board’s example it starts in July 2028 at 70.4% of the full amount.

      Which comes out ahead depends on how long you live, whether a spouse will live on your benefit after you, and whether you still work. The break-even math for your own numbers.

      Where to next

      Every guide on this site sits on one of five lines. Each starts from your estimate.

      The Social Security system map
      The formulaYour recordBy salary62, 67 or 70Full retirement ageMaximumSpousesSurvivorsEarnings limitCreditsCOLA 2027Pay dates 2027AveragesTaxesState taxesWEP and GPOYour estimate

      Retirement line

      1. The formula
      2. Your record
      3. By salary
      4. 62, 67 or 70
      5. Full retirement age
      6. Maximum

      Family line

      1. Spouses
      2. Survivors

      Work line

      1. Earnings limit
      2. Credits

      Money line

      1. COLA 2027
      2. Pay dates 2027
      3. Averages
      4. Taxes
      5. State taxes

      Law line

      1. WEP and GPO

      Questions people ask

      How much Social Security will I get if I make $50,000 a year?

      For someone born in 1966, about $2,110 a month at full retirement age (67), $1,486 at 62 and $2,616 at 70, in today’s dollars, if they earned that much (in today’s money) every year from 22. Fewer years of work, or lower pay early on, mean less; type your own date of birth and pay into the board for yours. One table with every salary from $20,000 to $250,000.

      What is the average Social Security check?

      For January 2027, SSA estimates the average retired worker gets $2,170 a month, up from $2,095 before the 3.6% increase (SSA’s fact sheet). The latest actual average SSA has published is $2,088.79, for September 2026 (SSA’s monthly snapshot).

      How many years do I need to work to get Social Security?

      You need 40 credits, and you earn at most 4 a year, so at least 10 years of work. In 2027 each credit takes $1,970 of earnings (SSA). Credits only make you eligible; the amount comes from your 35 best years. Count your credits.

      Does Social Security use my highest 35 years?

      Yes. Each year’s earnings before the year you turn 60 are indexed to wage levels then, and the 35 highest years are averaged; a career shorter than 35 years averages in zeros (SSA’s examples). The board shows how many zero years your estimate has.

      Will Social Security run out of money?

      It will not run out: payroll taxes keep coming in. But the trust fund reserves that top them up are projected to run out. The Trustees’ 2026 reports project that the retirement and survivors fund can pay full scheduled benefits until the fourth quarter of 2032, and 78% of them after that; counted together with the disability fund, full benefits until the third quarter of 2034, then 83% (the Trustees’ summary). Lawmakers have many options to close the gap, the Trustees say. The estimates on this site are the benefits today’s law schedules.

      Is this the same as SSA’s own estimate?

      It uses SSA’s published formula, figures and rounding, and reproduces SSA’s own worked examples to the cent (the comparison is on How the calculators work). Your exact amount depends on your real earnings record: paste it into the board, or see SSA’s estimate at my Social Security. This site is independent and is not SSA.