Social Security break-even calculator: when does waiting pay off?
Claiming Social Security at 62 gets money into your hands sooner; waiting until full retirement age or 70 gets you a bigger cheque for life. This Social Security break-even calculator finds the age at which the bigger, later payments have added up to more than the smaller, earlier ones — the break-even point.
Enter your benefit at full retirement age (the PIA on your statement), your birth year and up to three claiming ages. The tool applies the official reduction and delayed-credit rules month by month, draws the lifetime totals and lists the break-even age for every pair. It runs in your browser with no sign-up. The rules were checked on 24 October 2026; the result is an estimate, not financial advice.
How to use the Social Security Break-Even Calculator (62 vs 67 vs 70)
- Enter your birth year and your benefit at full retirement age.
- Choose the earlier and later claiming ages, in years and months; add a third age if you want to compare three.
- Optionally add a yearly cost-of-living increase and a discount rate.
- Read the break-even age in the result, the chart of lifetime totals and the table of totals at 70, 75, 80 and beyond.
- Download the yearly totals as CSV or copy the summary.
Social Security Break-Even Calculator (62 vs 67 vs 70) features
Month-by-month maths
Benefits are added one month at a time, so the break-even is exact to the month.
Up to three ages
Compare 62, your full retirement age and 70 — or any ages and months in between.
COLA and discounting
Add yearly cost-of-living increases and see the present value at a chosen discount rate.
Chart and table
Lifetime totals on a chart with break-even markers, plus totals at 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 and 95.
Official factors
5/9% and 5/12% a month for claiming early, 2/3% a month in credits for waiting.
How the break-even age is found
Each claiming age gives a fixed percentage of your PIA: 70% at 62 and 124% at 70 when your full retirement age is 67. Claiming early builds a head start; claiming later pays more each month. The break-even age is the month at which the later claim’s running total equals or passes the earlier one’s.
Worked example with a $2,000 PIA: claiming at 62 pays $1,400 a month, so by 67 you have received 60 × $1,400 = $84,000. Claiming at 67 pays $2,000 — $600 a month more — so it takes $84,000 ÷ $600 = 140 months to catch up: at 78 and 8 months. Waiting to 70 ($2,480) overtakes 67 at 82 and 6 months and overtakes 62 at 80 and 5 months.
| Claim at | Share of PIA (FRA 67) | Monthly on $2,000 PIA | Total by 85 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 70% | $1,400 | $386,400 |
| 67 | 100% | $2,000 | $432,000 |
| 70 | 124% | $2,480 | $446,400 |
COLA, discount rates and what they change
Cost-of-living increases raise every claim by the same percentage each year, but the larger later payments gain more dollars from each increase, so the break-even comes earlier: with a 2.5% yearly COLA the 62-versus-67 example moves from 78 and 8 months to 76 and 9 months. A discount rate works the other way: if you could invest early benefits at, say, 3% after inflation, later dollars are worth less today and the break-even moves later. At high enough rates waiting never pays off within a normal lifespan.
Things a break-even age leaves out
- Life expectancy: break-even only helps if you have a view on how long you (and your spouse) are likely to live.
- Survivor benefits: when the higher earner waits, the surviving spouse keeps the larger benefit for life.
- The earnings test: claiming before full retirement age while working above $24,480 (2026) withholds benefits for a while.
- Taxes and Medicare premiums, which depend on your other income — see the Medicare premium calculator.
- Your actual PIA: estimate it with the Social Security calculator if you do not have your statement to hand.
Social Security Break-Even Calculator (62 vs 67 vs 70) FAQ
What is the break-even age for Social Security at 62 vs 67?
With a full retirement age of 67 and no discounting, about 78 and 8 months. The ratio of benefits is fixed (70% vs 100%), so the break-even age is the same whatever your PIA.
What is the break-even age between 67 and 70?
About 82 and 6 months when your full retirement age is 67. Delayed credits add 8% a year, so 70 pays 124% of your PIA.
Does the cost-of-living adjustment change the break-even?
Yes, it brings it earlier. Equal percentage increases add more dollars to the larger later benefit; at 2.5% a year the 62-versus-67 break-even moves about two years earlier, to 76 and 9 months.
Should I use a discount rate?
Use 0% to compare plain totals. Use a positive rate if you would invest or need the money now — it shows how much the earlier payments are worth in today’s terms.
Is this break-even calculator free and private?
Yes. It is free, needs no sign-up and runs entirely in your browser.
Why is it called a break-even point calculator for SS?
SS is short for Social Security; the break-even point is the age where two claiming choices have paid out the same total.