Social Security Break-Even Chart: Claim at 62 or 70?

Monthly benefit by claiming age

Monthly benefit by claiming age for a PIA of $2,000.00, under the Social Security Administration’s published rules. Claiming at 62 takes 70% of the PIA; claiming at 70 takes 124%.

Cumulative benefits by age

Cumulative benefits by age for a PIA of $2,000.00, by claiming age. Claiming at 62 pays sooner and smaller; claiming at 70 pays later and larger; the totals cross at the break-even age.

How the Social Security break-even chart is worked out

On the defaults — a PIA of $2,000.00, claiming at 62 vs 67 — the monthly benefit is $1,400.00 at 62 and $2,000.00 at 67, and the break-even is 78 years 8 months (whole years: 79). The whole calculation is three moves: work out the monthly benefit for each claiming age as a percentage of the PIA, multiply by the months since claiming for the cumulative total, and find the age where the later claimer’s total first catches the earlier claimer’s.

Five things about the model are worth stating plainly. First, the monthly benefit is the PIA times the percentage for the claiming age — 62 takes 70%, 67 takes 100%, 70 takes 124%. Second, the early reduction is 5/9% per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12% per month beyond 36 months; delayed retirement credits are 8% per year to age 70. Third, the cumulative total at an age is the monthly benefit times the months since claiming, worked out from the unrounded monthly benefit and rounded to cents. Fourth, the break-even is the age the later claimer’s total first reaches the earlier claimer’s — reported in years and months and in whole years. And fifth, this is a simplification — it ignores cost-of-living adjustments, earnings tests, spousal and survivor benefits, taxes on benefits, and the fact that nobody knows their own lifespan; all listed in Accuracy & limitations.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: PIA $2,000.00, claiming at 62 vs 67.

Line 1 — monthly benefit at 62. The monthly benefit is $2,000.00 × 70% = $1,400.00.

Line 2 — monthly benefit at 67. The monthly benefit is $2,000.00 × 100% = $2,000.00.

Line 3 — break-even. The 62-claimer starts 60 months early at $1,400.00 a month; the 67-claimer starts at $2,000.00. The totals cross at 78 years 8 months — whole years: 79. At 85 the 62-claimer has $386,400.00 and the 67-claimer has $432,000.00, so the 67-claimer is ahead by $45,600.00.

Every branch, checked

PIA $3,000, 62 vs 67: PIA $3,000.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $2,100.00 vs $3,000.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $579,600.00 vs $648,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $68,400.00 — a bigger PIA scales every figure: the monthly benefits are $2,100.00 and $3,000.00, and the 67-claimer is ahead by $68,400.00 at 85.

67 vs 70, PIA $2,000: PIA $2,000.00, claim 67 vs 70: monthly $2,000.00 vs $2,480.00, break-even 82 years 6 months, cumulative at 85 $432,000.00 vs $446,400.00, 70-claimer ahead by $14,400.00 — waiting from 67 to 70 buys 8% a year, and the break-even is 82 years 6 months.

62 vs 70, PIA $2,000: PIA $2,000.00, claim 62 vs 70: monthly $1,400.00 vs $2,480.00, break-even 80 years 4 months, cumulative at 85 $386,400.00 vs $446,400.00, 70-claimer ahead by $60,000.00 — the widest spread: $1,400.00 against $2,480.00 a month, break-even 80 years 4 months.

PIA $1,500, 62 vs 67: PIA $1,500.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $1,050.00 vs $1,500.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $289,800.00 vs $324,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $34,200.00 — a smaller PIA shrinks every figure: the monthly benefits are $1,050.00 and $1,500.00.

64 vs 67, PIA $2,000: PIA $2,000.00, claim 64 vs 67: monthly $1,600.00 vs $2,000.00, break-even 79 years exactly, cumulative at 85 $403,200.00 vs $432,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $28,800.00 — the exact tie: at 79 both claimers have exactly $288,000.00.

PIA $2,500, 62 vs 67: PIA $2,500.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $1,750.00 vs $2,500.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $483,000.00 vs $540,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $57,000.00 — at 75 the 62-claimer is still ahead: $273,000.00 against $240,000.00.

65 vs 70, PIA $2,000: PIA $2,000.00, claim 65 vs 70: monthly $1,733.33 vs $2,480.00, break-even 81 years 7 months, cumulative at 85 $416,000.00 vs $446,400.00, 70-claimer ahead by $30,400.00 — waiting from 65 to 70 buys a bigger monthly benefit, break-even 81 years 7 months.

The reverses, worked backwards

PIA for a $2,000.00 monthly benefit at 62: $2,857.14 — the exact PIA is 2857.1429. At the displayed $2,857.14 the monthly benefit at 62 is $2,000.00 (exact to the cent). $2,857.13 gives $1,999.99; $2,857.15 gives $2,000.01. The star is DOLLARS.

PIA for a $50,000.00 gap at 85: $2,192.98 — the exact PIA is 2192.9825. At the displayed $2,192.98 the gap at 85 is $49,999.94, $0.06 under the $50,000.00 target — rounding. $2,192.97 gives $49,999.72; $2,192.99 gives $50,000.17. The star is DOLLARS.

Claiming age for a monthly benefit of at least $2,000.00: 67 — the smallest claiming age at which the monthly benefit reaches $2,000.00. At 67 the monthly benefit is $2,000.00; at 66 it is $1,866.67. This is a step reverse: the claiming age comes in whole years here, so there is no exact in-between. The star is YEARS.

PIA for a $2,480.00 monthly benefit at 70: $2,000.00 — the exact PIA is 2000.0000. At $2,000.00 the monthly benefit at 70 is $2,480.00 (exact to the cent). $1,999.99 gives $2,479.99; $2,000.01 gives $2,480.01. The star is DOLLARS.

Age when the 67-claimer’s total first reaches the 62-claimer’s: 79 — the smallest whole age at which the 67-claimer’s cumulative total first reaches the 62-claimer’s. At age 79 the 62-claimer’s total is $285,600.00 and the 67-claimer’s is $288,000.00, so the 67-claimer leads by $2,400.00. At age 78 the 62-claimer leads by $4,800.00. This is a step reverse: the age comes in whole years here, so there is no exact in-between. The star is YEARS.

PIA for a $500,000.00 cumulative at 90 claiming at 62: $2,125.85 — the exact PIA is 2125.8503. At the displayed $2,125.85 the cumulative at 90 claiming at 62 is $499,999.92, $0.08 under the $500,000.00 target — rounding. $2,125.84 gives $499,997.57; $2,125.86 gives $500,002.27. The star is DOLLARS.

What the defaults assume

The defaults are a PIA of $2,000.00, claiming at 62 vs 67 — monthly benefits $1,400.00 and $2,000.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $386,400.00 and $432,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $45,600.00. With a PIA of $0, PIA $0.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $0.00 vs $0.00, break-even none (benefits are $0.00), cumulative at 85 $0.00 vs $0.00, Tie — no PIA, no benefit. With a PIA of $4,000, PIA $4,000.00, claim 62 vs 70: monthly $2,800.00 vs $4,960.00, break-even 80 years 4 months, cumulative at 85 $772,800.00 vs $892,800.00, 70-claimer ahead by $120,000.00 — double the PIA, double every benefit. With 62 vs 62, PIA $2,000.00, claim 62 vs 62: monthly $1,400.00 vs $1,400.00, break-even none (same claiming age), cumulative at 85 $386,400.00 vs $386,400.00, Tie — the same claiming age, the same benefit, a Tie. With cumulative at 62, PIA $2,000.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $1,400.00 vs $2,000.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $386,400.00 vs $432,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $45,600.00 — no months since claiming, no total yet. With 70 vs 70, PIA $2,000.00, claim 70 vs 70: monthly $2,480.00 vs $2,480.00, break-even none (same claiming age), cumulative at 85 $446,400.00 vs $446,400.00, Tie — the same claiming age, the same benefit, a Tie. With cumulative at 100, PIA $2,000.00, claim 62 vs 67: monthly $1,400.00 vs $2,000.00, break-even 78 years 8 months, cumulative at 85 $386,400.00 vs $432,000.00, 67-claimer ahead by $45,600.00.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The worker weighing 62 vs 67: they learn the break-even is 78 years 8 months — and they check the 67-claiming-age reverse to see the smallest age that reaches a $2,000.00 monthly benefit.
• The worker weighing 67 vs 70: they learn the break-even is 82 years 6 months — and they check the 82-year figure against their own expected lifespan.
• The worker on a $3,000.00 PIA: they learn the monthly benefits are $2,100.00 and $3,000.00 — and they check the $2,192.98 reverse to see the PIA that leaves a $50,000.00 gap at 85.
• The worker who wants a $2,000.00 monthly check at 62: they learn the PIA is $2,857.14 — and they check the $2,125.85 reverse to see the PIA that reaches $500,000.00 by 90.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles from the Social Security Administration’s published rules: the early reduction is 5/9% per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12% per month beyond 36 months; delayed retirement credits are 8% per year to age 70; the monthly benefit is the PIA times the percentage for the claiming age; the cumulative total is the monthly benefit times the months since claiming, worked out from the unrounded monthly benefit and rounded to cents half-up; the break-even is the age the later claimer’s total first reaches the earlier claimer’s. What the model cannot do is tell you what YOUR benefit will be: it does NOT model cost-of-living adjustments, so every figure is in today’s dollars; it does NOT model the earnings test for claiming while working before full retirement age; it does NOT model spousal or survivor benefits; it does NOT model taxes on benefits; and it assumes the full retirement age is 67, which holds for those born in 1960 or later — earlier birth years have earlier full retirement ages. The break-even is a lifespan question, and nobody knows their own lifespan: a 78-year-8-month break-even only matters if you live past it. Use it to see the trade-off, then check your own statement at ssa.gov/myaccount before you claim.

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