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Guides · Social Security

Social Security guides: claiming, working and taxes

When to claim, what happens if you keep working, how spousal and survivor benefits fit together, and what the yearly cost-of-living adjustment really adds. Every guide follows the Social Security Administration’s own rules and links to the calculator that does the math for you.

Calculators ready · guides in progress Verified October 23, 2026

What should you know about Social Security first?

Choosing when to start Social Security is one of the largest money decisions in retirement, and it is close to permanent: you can withdraw an application only once, only within a year of your first month of benefits, and only by repaying every dollar you received. So start with your own numbers, not a rule of thumb.

Our view: married couples should judge the higher earner’s claiming age by the survivor benefit it locks in, not by a single break-even age. And if you are still working before full retirement age, the earnings test mostly delays money rather than taking it away: once you reach full retirement age, Social Security raises your monthly check to make up for the months it withheld.

Which Social Security questions can you answer right now?

Each of these questions opens a free calculator or reference page that works out the official answer for your own situation in a minute or two. There is no sign-up and nothing to download, and every result shows the official figures and sources behind it, so you can check the math yourself.

Latest Social Security guides

No Social Security guides are published yet. The calculators below already answer the questions people ask most, using the official figures — start there, and new guides will appear on this page.

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Calculators for Social Security

When to Claim Social SecurityCompare claiming at 62, full retirement age or 70 — your monthly check, lifetime total, and the age you break even.Open Social Security Earnings TestStill working before full retirement age? See exactly how much SSA withholds, which months, and how you get it back.Open Is My Social Security Taxable?How much of your Social Security is taxable using the IRS worksheet — and what the new $6,000 senior deduction changes.Open Spousal Benefits CalculatorYour spousal Social Security check: up to half your partner's full benefit, cut if you claim early.Open Survivor Benefits CalculatorWhat a widow or widower gets at 60 through full retirement age, and which benefit to take first.Open Social Security at 62Your check at 62 after the early-claiming cut, and the monthly and lifetime gap versus 67.Open When to Apply for Social SecurityThe earliest day to apply, the month your first check comes and its exact payment date.Open Work Credits CalculatorCount your Social Security credits and see when you'll reach 40 — and what that means for Medicare.Open WEP Repeal CalculatorHow much your Social Security rose when the Windfall Elimination Provision was repealed.Open

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