Claim at 62 (lifetime)
$386,400.00
Social Security Analysis
Compare total lifetime benefits across different claiming ages.
Best Claiming Age (Lifetime Total)
Age 70
Claim at 67 (lifetime)
$432,000.00
Claim at 70 (lifetime)
$446,400.00
How to use the Social Security Analysis
The Social Security Analysis is free and runs entirely in your browser — no sign-up, and nothing you enter leaves your device. It opens pre-filled with a realistic example, so you can see how it works before replacing any figure with your own; the results update as you type. Press Calculate to refresh the result panel, or Reset to return to the example.
The inputs it asks for:
- Primary Insurance Amount (at FRA) — a dollar amount.
- Life Expectancy (Age) — a number.
The formula
It computes the lifetime total each claiming age would pay — the annual benefit times the years you'd collect it up to your life expectancy — and picks the age with the biggest cumulative total:
Lifetime total = Annual benefit × (life expectancy − claiming age)
Benefit: 62 → 70% of PIA, 67 → 100%, 70 → 124%- PIA
- your full-retirement-age benefit (Primary Insurance Amount)
- claiming age
- 62 (reduced), 67 (full), or 70 (delayed)
Claiming early means more years of smaller checks; delaying means fewer years of larger ones. The crossover depends entirely on how long you live — which is why life expectancy is the pivotal input. It ignores taxes, spousal benefits, and the time value of money.
Worked example
Using the example values — Primary Insurance Amount (at FRA) $2,000.00, Life Expectancy (Age) 85 — the Social Security Analysis returns a Best Claiming Age (Lifetime Total) of Age 70. It also reports Claim at 62 (lifetime) ($386,400.00), Claim at 67 (lifetime) ($432,000.00), Claim at 70 (lifetime) ($446,400.00).
Prefer your own numbers? Change any field above and this recomputes instantly.
Key terms
- Claiming age
- When you start Social Security, between 62 and 70.
- Break-even age
- The age at which delaying overtakes claiming early in cumulative benefits.
- PIA (Primary Insurance Amount)
- The benefit payable at full retirement age.
- Delayed retirement credits
- The ~8%/year increase for claiming after full retirement age, up to 70.
Frequently asked questions
Is claiming later always better?
Only if you live long enough. Delaying buys a bigger check but you collect it for fewer years; the longer your life expectancy, the more delaying wins.
What's not included?
Taxes on benefits, spousal and survivor benefits, and the time value of money (a dollar today vs later). Those can shift the real-world answer.
How much does waiting from 67 to 70 add?
Roughly 8% a year in delayed credits — about 24% more at 70 than at full retirement age, as reflected in the calculator.