Social Security Benefit Estimator

Enter your date of birth and average career earnings. See your estimated monthly check at 62, full retirement age, and 70.

Reviewed by the SGB Team · Last updated October 2026

Social Security bases your check on two things: your 35 highest-earning years and the age you start collecting. Enter your career average and this tool runs it through the 2026 SSA formula. For most workers, the check replaces about 25% to 50% of what they earned before retiring. Lower earners get the higher percentages.

SSA works from your actual earnings record, which includes each of your 35 best years indexed for wage growth. This tool uses a single number instead: your average yearly pay over your career. That makes the result a ballpark figure, usually close enough to plan around. For the exact amount, sign in to my Social Security at ssa.gov/myaccount.

Estimate Your Benefit

Calculate Monthly Social Security Check

The tool divides your average yearly earnings by 12. That monthly figure stands in for your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). SSA's real AIME takes your 35 highest years, indexes each one for wage growth, and averages them. This tool skips the indexing and the year-by-year record.

Next comes the 2026 benefit formula: 90% of the first $1,286 of AIME, 32% of the amount between $1,286 and $7,749, and 15% of anything above $7,749, up to the taxable maximum. The result is your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the monthly check at full retirement age. Someone who averaged $60,000 a year has an AIME of $5,000 and a PIA of about $2,345.

Finally, the tool adjusts for claiming age using SSA's exact percentages. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 cuts that $2,345 check to about $1,642 for life. Waiting until 70 raises it to about $2,908.

The estimate is least reliable when your work history is short. SSA always divides by 35 years. If you worked 25 years, ten zero years go into the average, and your real benefit will be lower than the figure shown here.

Frequently Asked Questions

How accurate is this Social Security benefit estimator?

It's close enough for planning, but you shouldn't base your filing decision on it. The benefit formula and the age adjustments match SSA's. The weak spot is the earnings input, because one average number replaces your real 35-year record. Your exact figure is on your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount.

What percentage of my salary will Social Security replace?

Roughly 40% to 50% for lower earners and 25% to 30% for higher earners. The formula credits your first dollars of earnings at 90% and later dollars at 32% or 15%, so lower incomes get a larger share back.

Does Social Security use my highest-paying years or my most recent years?

It uses your 35 highest years, wherever they fall in your career. Earnings before age 60 are indexed for wage growth. Earnings at 60 and later count at face value.

What if I worked fewer than 35 years?

SSA still divides by 35 years (420 months), and every missing year counts as zero. Each extra year of work, even part-time, replaces one of those zeros and raises your benefit a little.

Is there a maximum Social Security benefit?

Yes. Earnings count only up to the taxable maximum, which is $184,500 in 2026. Pay above that isn't taxed for Social Security, so it doesn't raise your benefit.

Should I claim at 62, at full retirement age, or at 70?

Claiming at 62 gets you smaller checks for more years. If your full retirement age is 67, waiting until 70 gets you checks about 77% larger than at 62, but you collect them for fewer years. If you're healthy and can pay your bills without the check, waiting usually pays more over a long life. If you need the money now or your health is poor, claiming earlier often makes more sense.