The most reliable way to calculate your projected Social Security retirement benefit is to use the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) my Social Security Retirement Estimate. It uses your earnings record and lets you change assumptions about future earnings. To calculate outside an account, use SSA’s Online Calculator with your earnings history, or its Detailed Calculator for more detailed scenarios.
Start with your SSA earnings record
Before relying on a projection, check that the earnings history in your my Social Security account or Social Security Statement is accurate. SSA’s estimate is based on work earnings covered by Social Security, subject to the annual taxable maximum. Pensions and investment income are not covered work earnings for this calculation.
The personal Retirement Estimate uses the record SSA has for you and lets you adjust expected future earnings. SSA’s calculators outside the account either use earnings information you provide or require you to enter it, so an error or omission in the record can change the result.
Choose the right calculation tool
- my Social Security Retirement Estimate: Best starting point for a personalized projection using your SSA earnings record. Try different future earnings assumptions and compare the estimates at different claiming ages.
- SSA Online Calculator: Use this if you want an estimate outside your account and can provide the earnings on your Statement.
- SSA Detailed Calculator: Use this for more detailed scenarios. SSA identified version 2026.2, released July 13, 2026, as the current release.
Understand how SSA turns earnings into a benefit
SSA wage-indexes covered earnings to account for changes in average wages, then generally selects the highest 35 years of indexed earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years with earnings, the missing years count as zero. Working additional years can increase your calculation if a new year replaces a lower-earning year among the 35 selected years.
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SSA adds the selected indexed earnings and divides the total by 420 months—the number of months in 35 years—to calculate average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). It then applies a progressive formula to AIME to determine your primary insurance amount (PIA), the base benefit before the adjustment for the age you claim.
Use the formula for the year you turn 62
The formula’s bend points depend on the year you first become eligible at age 62, not simply the year you plan to retire. For workers first eligible in 2026, SSA applies these rates to the specified portions of AIME:
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| AIME portion for 2026 eligibility | Rate |
|---|---|
| First $1,286 | 90% |
| Amount over $1,286 through $7,749 | 32% |
| Amount above $7,749 | 15% |
SSA rounds the resulting PIA down to the next lower dime. These 2026 bend points apply to workers first eligible in 2026; do not use them for someone who turned 62 in a different year. Check SSA’s bend-point table for the relevant eligibility year.
Worked example: AIME of $5,825
For a worker first eligible in 2026, the calculation is 90% of $1,286 plus 32% of the amount between $1,286 and $5,825:
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0.90 × $1,286 + 0.32 × ($5,825 − $1,286) = $2,609.88
SSA’s example rounds this PIA down to $2,609.80. This illustrates the formula’s arithmetic; it is not a typical benefit or a personalized estimate.
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Why a hand calculation may differ
SSA’s examples show that year-specific parameters and rounding affect the result. A manual calculation can explain how the formula works, but it is not a substitute for your official estimate, which uses your earnings record and applicable rules.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Compare claiming ages and future earnings
Your PIA is not necessarily the amount you will receive. Claiming retirement benefits before full retirement age reduces the benefit; delaying past full retirement age can increase it through delayed retirement credits, up to age 70. Use your own record to compare SSA’s estimates at age 62, your full retirement age, and age 70.
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Run those comparisons with consistent assumptions about future earnings. In my Social Security, adjust expected future income or the point at which you expect to stop working, then see how the projected benefit changes. Additional work can raise the estimate if it replaces a lower year in your highest 35. Your estimate can also change with the claiming date, cost-of-living adjustments, and updates to your record, so it is a projection rather than a guaranteed future payment.
Keep these dated figures in context
SSA’s 2026 figures provide useful context, but they are not fixed inputs for every worker or every year:
- $184,500: The 2026 earnings limit; earnings above this amount do not increase benefits, according to SSA.
- $1,890: The amount of earnings needed for one Social Security credit in 2026. You can earn up to four credits in a year.
- $1,286 and $7,749: The bend points for workers first eligible in 2026.
Credits establish eligibility for benefits; the benefit amount itself is based on covered earnings and the age you claim. The 2026 credit amount and earnings limit are dated figures, so check SSA’s current credits information and contribution and benefit base when you make a current estimate.
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