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InvestmentretirementUnited States only

Social Security Claim Age Break-Even

The ages at which delaying Social Security overtakes claiming early, for each pair of claiming ages. It is a longevity bet, and the break-even ages are what you are betting against.

Also called: when to claim social security, social security break even age.

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Age where waiting to 67 overtakes claiming at 62
79

Claiming at 67 overtakes claiming at 62 at age 79, and waiting to 70 overtakes 62 at age 81. Living past those ages makes waiting worth more in total.

Age where waiting to 70 overtakes 62
81
Age where 70 overtakes 67
83
Total collected by 85, claiming at 62
$386,400.00
Total by 85, claiming at 67
$432,000.00
Total by 85, claiming at 70
$446,400.00
How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Claiming early gives you smaller cheques for more years; waiting gives larger cheques for fewer. The break-even is the age where the cumulative totals cross. Setting a return above zero discounts the early payments, because money received at 62 could have been invested, and that pushes every break-even later. At a zero rate the comparison is the pure cash one most people have in mind.

find the age at which the later, larger benefit has made up for the years it was not being paid
A
Annual benefit at each claiming age (currency)
a
The later claiming age (years)

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

the standard benefit ladder

Monthly benefit if you claim at 62
$1,400.00
Monthly benefit at full retirement age
$2,000.00
Monthly benefit if you wait to 70
$2,480.00
Return you could earn on early payments
0%

Age where waiting to 67 overtakes claiming at 6279

arithmetic identity: 23 and 18 years of annual benefit

Open this example

identical benefits never break even

Monthly benefit if you claim at 62
$2,000.00
Monthly benefit at full retirement age
$2,000.00
Monthly benefit if you wait to 70
$2,000.00
Return you could earn on early payments
0%

Age where waiting to 67 overtakes claiming at 620

degenerate case: waiting can never catch up if the cheque is the same

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a discount rate pushes the crossing later

Monthly benefit if you claim at 62
$1,400.00
Monthly benefit at full retirement age
$2,000.00
Monthly benefit if you wait to 70
$2,480.00
Return you could earn on early payments
5%

Age where waiting to 67 overtakes claiming at 6289

boundary: the nominal totals are unchanged while the crossings move out

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

  • Benefits continue unchanged once claimed, with no cost-of-living adjustment modelled.
  • The three benefit figures are yours, taken from your own statement.

What it deliberately does not model

  • Spousal and survivor benefits often dominate the decision and are not included.
  • Taxation of benefits, and the earnings test if you keep working, are not applied.

Sources

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why do people say wait until 70?
Because the increase for delaying is large and guaranteed for life, so anyone in good health with other income to live on is buying a well-priced longevity hedge. The break-even ages here are usually in the late seventies or early eighties.