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Social Security

How Is Social Security Calculated? Run Your Own Numbers

Social Security indexes your past earnings to wage growth, averages your highest 35 years into a monthly figure (AIME), then pays 90% of the first $1,340, 32% up to $8,077 and 15% above that for people turning 62 in 2027. Enter your average earnings to run the exact formula.

2027 bend points Verified October 23, 2026

Your details

$

Average of your best working years after indexing for wage growth — roughly your typical salary in today's money, capped at the taxable maximum each year.

yrs

Fewer than 35 years means zeros are averaged in.

Results update as you type. We don’t save what you enter; shared links keep it after the “#”, which never reaches our servers.

Your full-retirement-age benefit (PIA)

$2,430.30

Average indexed monthly earnings of $5,166 run through the 2027 formula.

AIME

$5,166

total ÷ 420 months

At 62

$1,701

At 70

$3,013

StepFormulaAmount
1. Total indexed earnings$62,000 × 35 years$2,170,000
2. AIME÷ 420 months, rounded down$5,166
3. First bend90% of the first $1,340$1,206.00
4. Second bend32% from $1,340 to $8,077$1,224.32
5. Above15% over $8,077$0.00
PIAsum, rounded down to the dime$2,430.30
Show the math

SSA indexes each year’s earnings to wage levels in the year you turn 60, keeps your highest 35 years, divides the total by 420 months to get the AIME, then applies 90%, 32% and 15% to the slices of AIME split at the bend points for the year you turn 62. Cost-of-living raises are added from 62 onward.

Next stepNow pick a claiming ageSee this benefit at every age from 62 to 70 and where each choice breaks even.
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The Social Security Formula: 90%, 32% and 15% at the 2027 Bend Points

Your benefit is a weighted percentage of your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). The first slice is replaced at 90%, the middle slice at 32% and the top slice at 15%. The dollar lines between slices — the bend points — are set for the year you turn 62 and rise with national wages each year. (SSA: bend points)

Year you turn 62 90% up to 32% up to 15% above
2025 $1,226 $7,391 $7,391
2026 $1,286 $7,749 $7,749
2027 $1,340 $8,077 $8,077

That design is deliberately progressive: a low earner gets back a much larger share of their pay than a high earner.

Calculator, notebook and pen on a desk for working out numbers
Photo: AlphaTradeZone / Pexels

Social Security PIA Calculator: From AIME to Your Monthly Benefit

Your primary insurance amount (PIA) — the benefit at full retirement age — takes five steps. The calculator above runs them on your numbers and shows each line.

  1. Index each year's earnings to wage levels in the year you turn 60, using the national average wage index. Earnings after 60 count at face value.
  2. Cap each year at that year's taxable maximum ($192,300 in 2027).
  3. Keep your highest 35 years and add them up.
  4. Divide by 420 months and round down: that's your AIME.
  5. Apply 90/32/15 at your bend points and round down to the dime: that's your PIA.

From there, starting at 62 cuts the PIA and waiting past full retirement age raises it; every cost-of-living raise from age 62 on is added, including the 3.6% for 2027 (SSA: 2027 COLA fact sheet).

Older man wearing glasses reading a statement
Photo: SHVETS production / Pexels

Why your Social Security statement shows a different number

Your statement assumes you keep earning your latest salary until you claim. If you stop working earlier, zeros may enter your 35 years and the real figure will be lower. The calculator uses only the years you enter.

Our take: the first dollars count most

Because the formula replaces 90 cents of the first slice, extra working years help most when they replace a zero or a low year. A high earner adding a 36th good year gains little; someone with 28 years gains a lot. Count your years on the work credits calculator, compare your result with the maximum Social Security benefit, then choose an age on the break-even calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Does working after 62 raise my benefit?

It can. Each year of earnings is compared with your lowest year in the top 35; if it's higher, it replaces it and SSA recalculates your benefit automatically, even after you've started collecting.

Do years before age 22 count?

Yes. Any year with covered earnings can be one of your top 35, including teenage summer jobs, though they rarely make the cut after indexing.

Do zeros really count if I worked fewer than 35 years?

Yes. The total of your top 35 years is always divided by 420 months, so every missing year is averaged in as a zero. Replacing even one zero with a full year of work can raise your benefit noticeably.

Is my benefit adjusted for inflation?

Your earnings are indexed to national wage growth through age 60, and from age 62 your benefit gets every annual cost-of-living adjustment, whether or not you've started collecting.

Sources

Primary sources only. We re-check them whenever an agency publishes new figures.

  1. SSA
    SSA OACT — Benefit formula bend points
  2. SSA
    SSA OACT — National average wage index
  3. SSA
    SSA OACT — Contribution and benefit base
  4. SSA
    SSA — 2027 Social Security Changes (COLA fact sheet)· published October 14, 2026

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Where people go next

Social Security at 62Your check at 62 after the early-claiming cut, and the monthly and lifetime gap versus 67.Open Maximum Social Security BenefitThe 2027 maximum at 62, 67 and 70, and how far your own record is from it.Open Work Credits CalculatorCount your Social Security credits and see when you'll reach 40 — and what that means for Medicare.Open