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Your Social Security check
How much Social Security will I get? How the amount is worked out, and how to find your real number
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Nobody can tell you your exact Social Security check without your earnings record, and any website that does is guessing. What this page can do is show how the amount is worked out, how your starting age changes it, and the free official tools that give your real number.
The most accurate way to find out is to sign in to your free my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount. It shows your own earnings record and estimates of your benefit at different ages, based on your actual work history.
Where do I get my real estimate?
- my Social Security: your personal statement, with your earnings history and estimates at 62, full retirement age and 70.
- The Retirement Estimator: a quick tool on ssa.gov that uses your earnings record.
- 1-800-772-1213, or your local Social Security office, if you cannot use the website.
Check your earnings record for missing years. Mistakes there change your benefit, and you can ask Social Security to correct them.
How is a Social Security retirement benefit calculated?
Social Security takes your 35 highest-earning years, adjusts older years for wage growth, and averages them into a monthly figure. That figure is run through a three-step formula, which gives the amount you get at full retirement age.
- Index your earnings. Past earnings are updated for average wage growth so a 1995 paycheck counts in today's terms.
- Pick the best 35 years. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zero. That pulls the average down.
- Find the monthly average. The total is divided by 420 months (35 years). This is your average indexed monthly earnings, or AIME.
- Apply the formula. For people first eligible in 2026, Social Security adds up 90% of the first $1,286 of AIME, 32% of AIME between $1,286 and $7,749, and 15% of AIME above $7,749. The result, rounded down to the next dime, is your primary insurance amount, or PIA.
The formula favors lower earners: each dollar at the bottom replaces more of your pay than a dollar at the top. Social Security's own example is a worker with maximum taxable earnings every year, retiring at 62 in 2026: an AIME of $14,358 gives a PIA of $4,216.90.
How much does the age I start change the amount?
For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Starting at 62 permanently cuts your monthly benefit to about 70% of your full amount. Waiting until 70 raises it to about 124%.
| Age you start | Share of full benefit |
|---|---|
| 62 | 70% |
| 63 | 75% |
| 64 | 80% |
| 65 | 86.7% |
| 66 | 93.3% |
| 67 | 100% |
| 68 | 108% |
| 69 | 116% |
| 70 | 124% |
The cut for starting early is 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before full retirement age and 5/12 of 1% for each month beyond that. Delayed retirement credits add 8% a year (two-thirds of 1% a month) from full retirement age to 70. If you were born before 1960, your full retirement age is a little younger than 67 (see the SSA page in the sources).
Adjust your own full-retirement-age amount
If your Social Security statement shows your benefit at full retirement age, this turns it into the amount at each starting age. It does not predict your benefit from your pay. It only applies the percentages above and runs in your browser.
Checklist before you decide when to start
- Sign in to my Social Security and write down the estimate at 62, at full retirement age and at 70.
- Look for missing or wrong years in your earnings record.
- Count your work years. Under 35 means some zero years are in the average.
- If you are married, look at your spouse's and survivor benefits too. They depend on both records.
- If you start before full retirement age and still work, an earnings test can hold back some benefits until full retirement age.
- Part of your benefit may be taxable. See Is your Social Security taxable?
- Remember Medicare Part B premiums come out of your check. See the 2027 Part B projection.
What is the average Social Security benefit?
Averages are of limited use for planning, because yours depends only on your own record. Social Security publishes current averages in its monthly statistical snapshot at ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot. A raise is announced each October. See the 2027 COLA page.
Frequently asked questions
How much Social Security will I get?
It depends on your 35 highest-earning years and the age you start. The most accurate answer is your estimate in your free my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount.
How is Social Security calculated?
Social Security averages your 35 highest-earning years (indexed for wage growth) into a monthly figure, then applies a formula of 90%, 32% and 15% over two income bands. For people first eligible in 2026 the bands break at $1,286 and $7,749.
What happens if I worked fewer than 35 years?
Each missing year counts as zero in the average, which lowers your benefit. Working more years can replace a zero with a higher-earning year.
How much less will I get if I start at 62?
If your full retirement age is 67, starting at 62 cuts your monthly benefit to about 70% of the full amount, permanently.
How much more will I get if I wait until 70?
If your full retirement age is 67, waiting until 70 raises your monthly benefit to about 124% of the full amount, through delayed retirement credits of 8% a year.
What is full retirement age?
It is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later. It is slightly younger for earlier birth years, on a sliding scale shown on ssa.gov.
Sources
Figures as of October 13, 2026. Bend points change every year.
- Social Security Administration, Primary Insurance Amount formula and 2026 bend points ($1,286 and $7,749; worked example PIA $4,216.90). https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/piaformula.html
- Social Security Administration, Retirement Estimator. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html
- Social Security Administration, my Social Security account. https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/
- Social Security Administration, full retirement age by birth year. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/ageincrease.html
- Social Security Administration, reduction for retiring early. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/agereduction.html
- Social Security Administration, delayed retirement credits. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html
- Social Security Administration, monthly statistical snapshot. https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/
Related: 2027 COLA, Is your Social Security taxable? and RMD age.
General education only, not financial, tax, legal or medical advice. Ask Margaret is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or part of the Social Security Administration or any government agency. Margaret is an AI host. For your own amount, use your my Social Security account.
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