One key decision you must make on your retirement journey is when to apply for Social Security. A retirement calculator can help you determine your ideal retirement age to begin Social Security payments and maximize the amount you will receive.
To help you navigate this big decision, here are 10 Social Security calculators to consider:
— Social Security Retirement Estimator
— U.S. News Retirement Calculator
— Planning for Retirement
— Social Security Benefits Calculator
— Retirement Age Calculator
— Early or Late Retirement Calculator
— Retirement Earnings Test Calculator
— Life Expectancy Calculator
— Social Security Intelligence Break-Even Calculator
[Read: How Long Will Your Retirement Savings Last]
Social Security Retirement Estimator
The Social Security Administration’s Retirement Estimator gives you an automatic estimate of your Social Security benefit based on your actual earnings history, showing calculations for three key ages: age 62, full retirement age and age 70. You can also manually enter alternate retirement ages and expected earnings to get a more accurate estimate of your future Social Security benefit. To use this tool, you must first create a my Social Security account.
If you choose to work during retirement, your earnings could impact your benefits, depending on your age and income. If you start collecting benefits before your full retirement age, your payment amount could be lowered if your income surpasses a set limit. Once you reach full retirement age, you can earn income without affecting your benefits.
U.S. News Retirement Calculator
For those who worry their nest egg may be inadequate, the U.S. News retirement calculator provides an estimate of how long your savings and income will last in your golden years.
While not specifically dedicated to Social Security estimates, you can utilize the U.S. News calculator’s functions to make retirement income projections. Fill out fields for your age, annual pre-tax income, total retirement savings and how much you put aside in savings every month. The calculator also takes into account your retirement age, life expectancy, inflation rate and retirement expenses. In addition to calculating how long your savings will last, outputs will include annual income increases and any expected additional retirement income. You can also experiment with your earnings, retirement income projections and savings goals to get a sense of how this can impact your income in your later years.
Planning for Retirement
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Planning for Retirement tool provides a rough estimate of your monthly or annual Social Security payments at various claiming ages based on your birth date and the highest annual salary you have earned. An interactive graph illustrates how claiming at ages 62 through 70 can increase or decrease your monthly or annual payments and the lifetime amount you will receive by age 85.
The site also provides personalized information about how marital status, desired retirement age, spending expectations, retirement income sources and longevity can impact your claiming decision. However, since the tool doesn’t use your actual earnings, the estimate is likely to be less accurate than the SSA’s calculators, especially for younger people or those with more variable incomes.
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Social Security Benefits Calculator
The AARP Social Security Benefits Calculator allows you to input income for you and a spouse simultaneously. You can compare how much you will receive at various claiming ages with your likely retirement expenses. It also provides benefits estimates for divorced individuals whose marriage lasted a decade or more and who have not remarried. The calculator does not include survivor benefits for widows or widowers.
After calculating your estimated benefit, AARP’s tool will show you potential income sources. This could include retirement accounts, Social Security or other pension income. You can adjust the start year of retirement to see how your finances would change.
Retirement Age Calculator
Your Social Security full retirement age depends on the year you were born. The Social Security Administration’s simple Retirement Age Calculator allows you to input your birth year and quickly find out the exact age you will be eligible to claim your full Social Security retirement benefit. Your Social Security payments will be reduced if you start payments before your full retirement age, and the retirement age calculator also explains the exact percentage of the benefit reduction depending on the year and month when you start payments.
Early or Late Retirement Calculator
Monthly Social Security benefits are reduced if you start payments before your full retirement and increase for each month of delayed claiming up until age 70. The Social Security Administration’s Early or Late Retirement Calculator can help you compute the change in your payment amount based on the exact month you plan to start Social Security.
Retirement Earnings Test Calculator
If you are younger than your full retirement age and continue to work after starting Social Security payments, part of your Social Security benefit might be temporarily withheld. You can use the Social Security Administration’s Retirement Earnings Test Calculator to figure out how much of your benefit will be withheld based on the amount you expect to earn. Once you turn your full retirement age, your benefit will be recalculated to give you credit for any withheld benefit and your continued earnings.
[READ: What Is the Social Security Administration?]
Life Expectancy Calculator
Deciding the optimal age to begin Social Security payments often involves making an educated guess about how long you will live. The Social Security Administration’s Life Expectancy Calculator will tell you the average number of additional years someone of your age and gender can expect to live. However, this tool does not take into account your current health, lifestyle or family medical history.
“The longer you believe you are going to live, the longer it makes sense to wait to take benefits, and the shorter you think you are going to live, the earlier it will appear to be better to claim,” said Brian Kuhn, a financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement Group in Fulton, Maryland, in an email. This can be difficult to determine, but it can serve as a general guideline. “When in doubt, waiting is helpful if you have other income options,” Kuhn says.
Social Security Intelligence Break-Even Calculator
This calculator provides a visual breakdown of the benefits you can expect. Enter your date of birth and estimated amount for your Social Security paychecks, which makes it simpler to compare filing early versus filing later. The calculator also adjusts the amounts for inflation and shows how many years it will take to break at different starting ages. While it’s helpful to determine the right age to start benefits, you’ll want to consider additional lifestyle factors.
None of these calculators can provide the exact dollar amount you will receive from the Social Security Administration in retirement. Your actual benefit may differ from Social Security calculator estimates for a variety of reasons, including fluctuating earnings, delayed retirement, inflation adjustments, legislative changes, tax withholding and the deduction of Medicare premiums from Social Security payments. However, these tools can give you an idea of how your payments will change if you delay claiming Social Security or coordinate benefits with a spouse.
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9 Social Security Calculators That Can Help You Decide When to Claim originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 06/26/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
