Social Security Timing Calculator

Your information

Birth year Used to figure out your Full Retirement Age (FRA). Estimated monthly benefit at Full Retirement Age $ This is the number on your Social Security statement at full retirement age. Don't have it? Get it free at ssa.gov/myaccount. Plan-to age (how long you expect to live) 90 Slide to roughly how long you expect to live. This drives the recommendation.

▶ Advanced options

Annual COLA Cost-of-living raise applied each year. Default is the official 2026 COLA of 2.8%; future years are an assumption you can change. Discount rate (present value) Leave at 0 to turn off. Above 0 also shows present-value results.

What this suggests

This is general education based on the numbers you entered — not a personal recommendation.

Monthly benefit by claim age

Monthly amounts are in today's dollars, before any future COLA raises.

Total collected over your lifetime

Break-even ages

"Break-even" is the age at which waiting longer has paid back the early years you gave up. Live past it and waiting wins; pass away before it and claiming earlier collected more.