When should each person claim Social Security?

For each person it shows the monthly benefit at every age from 62 to 70 and totals lifetime benefits through the ages you enter. For couples it adds the spousal top-up (own benefit first, then any excess up to half the other’s full benefit) and the survivor benefit after the first death, then ranks the claiming combinations.

Born September 1968, full retirement age 67, benefit at FRA $3,200: claiming at 62 pays about $2,240 a month (70%), at 67 $3,200, at 70 $3,968 (124%). Which is “best” depends on how long you live, whether a spouse will rely on a survivor benefit, and what your savings earn in the meantime.

• Full retirement age by birth year (66 for 1943–1954, rising two months a year to 67 for 1960 and later); a separate schedule for survivor benefits.
• Early-claim reductions and delayed retirement credits as published by SSA.
• Spousal benefits as an excess over the claimant’s own benefit, reduced 25/36 of 1% per month for the first 36 months before FRA and 5/12 of 1% beyond, with modern deemed filing.
• Survivor benefits: 71.5% at age 60 rising monthly to 100% at survivor FRA; the widow(er)’s limit (the larger of the worker’s reduced benefit or 82.5% of PIA) when the worker claimed early; inherited delayed credits when the worker claimed late.
• COLA applied each January; optional stress case based on the 2026 Trustees Report.

Not modeled: the earnings test (use the full plan), child-in-care and family-maximum rules, divorced-spouse and disability benefits, government pension offsets, retroactive filing, and the January 1 birthday rule. The tool cannot see your earnings record; enter the FRA amount from your SSA statement, and reduce it if that estimate assumes you keep working.

Confirm any decision with an official Social Security statement, your plan custodian, and a qualified adviser. See the methodology and changelog for every rule the model applies.

How much is Social Security reduced at 62?

For someone with a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full benefit. Each month of delay recovers part of that; each month past FRA adds 2/3 of 1% up to age 70, where the benefit is 124%.

What is the break-even age for waiting until 70?

Ignoring investment returns and COLA, the cumulative benefits from claiming at 70 overtake claiming at 62 in the early 80s. The comparison table shows lifetime totals under your longevity and return assumptions.

How does the survivor benefit work?

A widow or widower receives the larger of their own benefit or the survivor benefit, which is based on the deceased spouse’s benefit including delayed credits, reduced if claimed before the survivor’s full retirement age, and capped by the widow(er)’s limit if the deceased claimed early.

Will Social Security be cut in 2032?

Under current law, the 2026 Trustees Report projects the retirement trust fund will be depleted in late 2032, after which 78% of scheduled benefits could be paid, declining gradually to 62% by 2100. Congress can change the law; the stress case lets you test that risk.