Your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of earnings and the age you start collecting
Social Security calculates your monthly benefit by looking at your work history — specifically, your 35 highest-earning years. The Social Security Administration (SSA) adjusts those earnings for inflation, adds them up, and divides by the number of months you worked. That gives you your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit you would receive at your full retirement age.
The age you choose to start collecting changes that amount. If you start at 62, your benefit is smaller each month for life. If you wait until 70, your benefit is larger each month for life. Most people fall somewhere in between. The SSA publishes a detailed earnings record for you, and you can see exactly which years they counted and which they ignored.
Key Takeaways
- The SSA uses your 35 highest-earning years to calculate your benefit, adjusted for inflation to today's dollars.
- Your full retirement age — when you get your full benefit amount — depends on your birth year and ranges from 66 to 67.
- Starting at 62 reduces your monthly benefit by about 30 percent; waiting until 70 increases it by about 24 percent per year of delay.
- You can view your official earnings record and estimated benefit amounts on your personal Social Security account at ssa.gov.
- If you have fewer than 10 years of work history, you do not receive a benefit based on your own earnings.
The 35-year earnings record and how gaps affect your benefit
Social Security counts your 35 highest-earning years of work. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the SSA counts the missing years as zero. This is why a gap in your work history — time spent raising children, caring for a parent, or out of work — lowers your benefit amount.
For example, if you worked 30 years, the SSA includes five years of zero earnings in the calculation. Those five zeros pull down your average. If you worked 40 years, the SSA uses only your 35 best years and ignores the five lowest-earning years. This means extra work years only help your benefit if they were higher-earning than your current lowest 35 years.
The SSA adjusts all past earnings for inflation using a formula tied to national wage growth. Your 1990 earnings are not counted as $1990 dollars — they are adjusted upward to reflect what that wage would be worth in today's economy. Only your earnings in the year you turn 60 and later are counted at face value.
How your full retirement age affects your benefit amount
Your full retirement age is the age at which you receive your complete Primary Insurance Amount. This age is not 65 for everyone. It depends on your birth year:
| Born in | Full Retirement Age |
|---|---|
| 1943–1954 | 66 |
| 1955 | 66 and 2 months |
| 1956 | 66 and 4 months |
| 1957 | 66 and 6 months |
| 1958 | 66 and 8 months |
| 1959 | 66 and 10 months |
| 1960 and later | 67 |
If you claim before your full retirement age, your benefit is permanently reduced. If you claim after your full retirement age, your benefit grows by about 8 percent per year until age 70, when it stops growing. This means the choice of when to start is one of the most important financial decisions you make in retirement.
How claiming age changes your monthly payment
The SSA uses a formula to adjust your Primary Insurance Amount based on when you start. If your full retirement age is 67 and your full benefit would be $1,500 per month, here is how age affects that amount:
- At age 62: roughly $1,050 per month (30 percent reduction)
- At age 65: roughly $1,300 per month (13 percent reduction)
- At age 67: $1,500 per month (your full amount)
- At age 70: roughly $1,860 per month (24 percent increase)
These percentages are set by law and do not change. The exact reduction or increase depends on your birth month as well as your birth year, so the SSA can give you a precise figure for your situation. The longer you live, the more total money you receive if you wait to claim — but if you claim early, you receive payments for more years. There is no mathematically "correct" answer; it depends on your health, family history, and financial needs.
How work history affects your benefit if you have gaps
If you took time out of the workforce, that time counts as zero earnings years in your 35-year calculation. This is common for people who raised children, went back to school, or faced unemployment. The impact depends on how many years you worked total.
If you worked 40 years, the five lowest-earning years are dropped, so a gap may not hurt you at all — your 35 best years are what counts. If you worked only 25 years, the SSA includes 10 years of zeros, which significantly lowers your average. Going back to work in your 60s can help if those new earnings are higher than your lowest 35 years, but only if you have not yet claimed benefits.
Once you start collecting Social Security, additional work does not change your benefit amount. The SSA recalculates your benefit once per year in January if you were still working and not yet at full retirement age, but after you claim, your benefit is locked in.
How spousal and survivor benefits are calculated
If you are married, your spouse may be may have access to to a benefit based on your work record. A spouse's benefit is typically up to 50 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount, but this is reduced if your spouse claims before their own full retirement age. A divorced spouse married to you for at least 10 years may also receive a benefit on your record.
If you pass away, your surviving spouse and children may receive survivor benefits. A widow or widower at full retirement age receives up to 100 percent of what you were receiving (or may have access to to receive). Children under 19 (or 19 if still in high school) receive up to 75 percent each. The total family benefit is capped at about 150 to 180 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount, depending on your birth year.
These family benefits do not reduce your own benefit. If you claim at 62 and your spouse claims on your record at 67, your spouse receives their full spousal amount while you receive your reduced amount. The SSA calculates each person's benefit separately.
Where to find your official earnings record and estimated benefit
The SSA maintains an official record of every year you paid Social Security taxes. You can view this record and see your estimated benefit amounts by creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov. You will need to verify your identity using a find login process.
Your account shows your earnings year by year, which years the SSA counted, and estimated benefit amounts if you claim at 62, at your full retirement age, and at 70. You should review this record every few years to make sure it is accurate. If you spot an error — a year of earnings that is missing or understated — you can contact the SSA to correct it, but you generally have only three years, three months, and 15 days from the end of the year the earnings were reported to request a correction.
If you do not have internet access or prefer to speak with someone, you can call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to request a paper statement of your earnings record and estimated benefits. Wait times are often long, so calling early in the week or early in the day may be faster.
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I worked in another country — does that count toward Social Security?
Work in another country generally does not count toward your U.S. Social Security benefit unless you paid U.S. Social Security taxes on those earnings. However, the U.S. has totalization agreements with about 30 countries that allow work in both countries to count toward benefits. If you worked abroad, contact the SSA to find out whether your work qualifies.
Can I see how much my benefit will be before I claim?
Yes. Your my Social Security account shows estimated benefits at different claiming ages. These estimates are based on your current earnings record and assume you stop working. If you plan to work longer, your benefit may be higher. The SSA updates these estimates once per year.
Does my benefit change if I keep working after I claim?
If you claim before your full retirement age and continue to work, your benefit may be temporarily reduced if your earnings exceed a certain limit (the limit changes yearly). Once you reach your full retirement age, there is no earnings limit and your benefit does not change based on work. After you claim, future work does not increase your benefit amount.
What happens to my benefit if I was self-employed?
Self-employment income counts toward Social Security if you paid self-employment tax on it. The SSA uses your net profit (after business expenses) to calculate your earnings record. You must have paid self-employment tax for those years for them to count — straightforward having income does not may have access to.
How do I know if my earnings record is correct?
Review your my Social Security account every few years. If you see missing years or amounts that seem too low, contact the SSA with your tax return or W-2 from that year as proof. Corrections must be requested within three years, three months, and 15 days of the end of the year the earnings were reported.