Social Security Claiming Age Comparison Calculator

Inputs

Birth year Estimated monthly benefit at FRA (your PIA)

Assumed annual COLA (%)

Optional. For breakeven, COLA cancels if applied equally to all options.

Real discount rate (%)

Optional. Accounts for time value of money in breakeven.

Cumulative comparison through age

We’ll total benefits from each claiming age up to this age.

Earliest claiming age (fixed)

This tool compares 62 vs. FRA vs. 70.

Assumptions: Uses SSA reduction rules (early: 5/9% per month, plus 5/12% beyond 36 months) and delayed credits (8%/yr) from FRA to 70.

Results

Option	Claim Age	Monthly Benefit	Cumulative to Age 90

How it Works

FRA: Computed from birth year (66–67 for modern cohorts). 62 benefit: Reduction of 5/9 of 1% per month for first 36 months before FRA, then 5/12 of 1% for additional months. 70 benefit: Delayed retirement credits of 8% per year from FRA to 70.

Breakeven age is the age where cumulative totals equalize between claiming ages. If a discount rate is used, the present value is applied to each monthly payment.