{
  "slug": "social-security-estimate",
  "title": "Social Security Benefit Estimator",
  "heading": "Social Security Claiming Age Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/social-security-estimate",
  "summary": "Compare monthly benefit at 62, full retirement age, and 70.",
  "description": "Claiming early cuts your benefit up to 30%; waiting to 70 adds about 8% a year. This shows the monthly and lifetime tradeoff.",
  "formula": "Early: −5/9% per month before FRA. Delayed: +8% per year after FRA.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=social-security-estimate",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "pia",
      "label": "Benefit at full retirement age",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2200,
      "unit": "$/mo",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "fra",
      "label": "Full retirement age",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 67,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 65,
      "max": 67
    },
    {
      "id": "life",
      "label": "Life expectancy",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 85,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 65,
      "max": 105
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "late",
      "label": "Monthly at 70",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "full",
      "label": "Monthly at full retirement age",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "early",
      "label": "Monthly at 62",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "lifetimeLate",
      "label": "Lifetime total claiming at 70",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "lifetimeEarly",
      "label": "Lifetime total claiming at 62",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Benefit at full retirement age: 2200 $/mo",
      "Full retirement age: 67",
      "Life expectancy: 85"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Monthly at 70: $2,728",
      "Monthly at full retirement age: $2,200",
      "Monthly at 62: $1,540",
      "Lifetime total claiming at 70: $491,040",
      "Lifetime total claiming at 62: $425,040"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter benefit at full retirement age ($/mo).",
      "Enter full retirement age.",
      "Enter life expectancy.",
      "Read your monthly at 70 on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "pia": 1300,
        "fra": 65,
        "life": 65
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "pia": 2200,
        "fra": 67,
        "life": 85
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "pia": 3500,
        "fra": 67,
        "life": 105
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the social security claiming age calculator work?",
      "a": "Claiming early cuts your benefit up to 30%; waiting to 70 adds about 8% a year. This shows the monthly and lifetime tradeoff. The underlying maths is: Early: −5/9% per month before FRA. Delayed: +8% per year after FRA."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "3 values: benefit at full retirement age, full retirement age, and life expectancy. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the monthly at 70 result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Social Security Benefit Estimator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/social-security-estimate)"
}