Social Security: the overview
Social Security retirement benefits can start at any age from 62 to 70. The benefit is set against your full retirement age, which is 67 for everyone born in 1960 or later, 66 for people born 1954 or earlier, and rises by two months a year for the cohorts born 1955–1959[1].
The decisions
- When to claim. With a full retirement age of 67, claiming at 62 pays 70% of the full benefit for life, and waiting to 70 pays 124%[2]: the age-70 check is about 77% larger than the age-62 one. Each month early cuts the benefit by 5/9 of 1% for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% after that; each month of delay past full retirement age adds 2/3 of 1%[2]. Waiting is a bet on living long enough to collect the larger checks, and the break-even age is where the bet turns. The credits stop at 70, so there is nothing to gain from waiting longer[2].
- What to live on while waiting. Delaying the claim means drawing more from savings in the meantime. Those same years, with little taxable income, are also the usual window for Roth conversions, so the claiming age and a conversion plan are best worked out together (see the Roth conversions topic).
- How the benefit is taxed. Up to 50% of benefits become taxable once “provisional income” (other income, tax-exempt interest and half the benefit) passes $25,000 for a single filer or $32,000 on a joint return, and up to 85% above $34,000 or $44,000[3]. Those thresholds are written in the law and are not adjusted for inflation. In the band where benefits phase into tax, an extra dollar of IRA withdrawal can make more than a dollar taxable.
- What a survivor keeps. Survivor benefits can start at 60[4], at 71.5% of the deceased spouse’s benefit, rising to 100% at the survivor’s full retirement age[5].
- Working while claiming. If you claim before full retirement age and keep working, Social Security withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above an annual limit, and $1 for every $3 above a higher limit in the year you reach full retirement age; only earnings before the month you reach it count[6].
- Public pensions. The Social Security Fairness Act, signed on January 5, 2025, ended the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that had reduced benefits for many people with pensions from work not covered by Social Security[7].
What to read, in order
Start with the break-even calculator, which compares two claiming ages month by month. Then read the Social Security tax torpedo on how benefits are taxed, and the widow(er)’s penalty on what changes for a survivor who files single. If you plan to work after claiming, see the earnings test; if you have a public pension, see the WEP/GPO repeal. To compare claiming ages across many market paths rather than one, follow the simulator how-to. Benefits also count toward income for Medicare’s surcharge (see the Medicare & IRMAA topic).
Start here
- Social Security break-even calculator: claim at 62, 67, or 70?Social Security break-even calculator: the exact month a later claim (62 vs 67 vs 70) catches up, and why break-even alone ignores taxes and survivor benefits.
- The Social Security tax torpedoProvisional income, the 50% and 85% phase-in tiers, and why an IRA withdrawal in the wrong band is taxed at an effective 22.2% or 40.7%, and where the spike ends.
Go deeper
- The widow(er)’s penalty: same money, single bracketsWhy a survivor’s taxes rise while income falls: halved deductions and brackets, halved IRMAA thresholds, lower Social Security taxability tiers, and the planning window couples have before it happens.
- The Social Security earnings test: claiming early while still working2026 limits: $1 withheld per $2 earned over $24,480 before FRA, $1 per $3 over $65,160 in the FRA year, and the recomputation at 67 that gives the withheld checks back.
- The WEP/GPO repeal: what the Social Security Fairness Act changedThe 2025 law repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset retroactive to January 2024. See who got the $17 billion in back payments, who still needs to apply, and how to update your plan.
How to model it in the simulator
Calculators
- Social Security break-even calculator: Compare claiming at 62, 67 or 70 and see the month a later claim catches up.
- Social Security tax calculator: See how much of your Social Security is taxable: provisional income, the 50% and 85% zones, and the real tax on your next dollar.
Worked examples and comparisons
- Worked example: how much of Social Security is taxable: The IRS worksheet for a single retiree, step by step, in the 85% band and the 50% band, and what changes for a married person filing separately.
- Worked example: the widow’s penalty, from a joint return to a single one: The same $120,000 pension taxed on a joint return in the year a spouse dies and on a single return the year after, bracket by bracket.
See it in your plan
Open the Strategy Lab sweep and compare claiming ages across thousands of market paths. Try it in the simulator →
If you already have a saved plan, the link only takes you to the right panel; your plan is not changed.
Related topics
This page explains how the rules work. It is not financial, tax or investment advice. Read the disclaimer.
References
- SSA:Retirement age and benefit reduction (full retirement age by year of birth) ↩
- SSA Office of the Chief Actuary: Effect of early or delayed retirement on benefits ↩
- IRS Publication 915: Social Security and equivalent railroad retirement benefits ↩
- SSA:Who can get survivor benefits ↩
- SSA:How much survivors receive ↩
- SSA:How work affects your benefits (retirement earnings test) ↩
- SSA:Social Security Fairness Act: Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset ↩