A fixed-reference Social Security example
A fixed-reference Social Security example
Enter an assumed indexed 35-year annual earnings average. This is not a single annual salary or a reconstructed Social Security record. The model uses fixed 2026 bend points; birth year selects full retirement age only. For a January 1 birthday, use the previous effective birth year. Claiming age is entered in complete months from age 62 through 70.
AIME truncates to whole dollars; PIA and the age adjustment truncate to dimes. Gross monthly payments of at least $1 floor to whole dollars; smaller payments retain dimes. Annual amounts are twelve flat payments, and cumulative payments count complete months to the 85th birthday, end-exclusive. Delayed credits are applied immediately for comparison, although actual timing before age 70 can differ. Eligibility, COLA, taxes, Medicare deductions, earnings tests, family benefits, prior claims and survival probability are excluded.
This uses the 2026 reference bend points $1,286 and $7,749 on an assumed 35-year indexed earnings average. Birth year selects full retirement age only. It does not select your actual eligibility-year formula: a person’s bend points depend on the year they reach 62. Future cohort values and historical cost-of-living adjustments are not modeled. This is not a personalized SSA benefit estimate or a guarantee of eligibility or payments.
The earnings input is an assumed annual equivalent of a 35-year indexed average, not current salary or a verified SSA earnings record. AIME is the annual cents divided by 1,200, truncated to whole dollars. Historical earnings indexing, missing years, covered-earnings caps and insured status are not calculated; a single current-year taxable-wage cap is not applied to this indexed average.
Enter the effective SSA birth year: if born on January 1, use the previous year. Supported effective years are 1949–2005. Actual birthday, eligibility month and payment calendar are not inferred. The comparison applies all delayed credits immediately; actual credits before age 70 can take effect later.
PIA and the age-adjusted amount are truncated to lower dimes. The modeled payment is then rounded down to a whole dollar when at least $1; amounts below $1 retain dimes. Early reductions use exact monthly fractions (first 36 months and additional months separately); delay uses 2/3 of one percent per month up to age 70. No deductions are modeled.
Annual value is 12 identical modeled payments. Cumulative value counts complete months from claiming age to the 85th birthday, excluding that endpoint, with no COLA, investment return, discounting or survival probability. Taxes, Medicare deductions, earnings tests, family benefits, prior claims and individual adjustments are excluded. Use your SSA record for personal planning.
SSA reference formula and personal estimates; SSA rounding rules
