Your Social Security check can look like it comes out of nowhere. In fact it follows a fixed formula written into law, and once you know the three steps, your statement starts to make sense. It also shows you which choices actually change your check.
Step 1: Your 35 best years
Social Security starts with your earnings record, the list of what you earned each year in jobs that took out Social Security tax. Only earnings up to the yearly limit count. In 2027 that limit is $192,300.
Older earnings are raised to match today’s wage levels, a step called indexing. Pay you earned at 25 in 1990 counts as if it were earned at today’s pay levels. Earnings up to age 60 are indexed. After that they count at face value.
Social Security then picks your 35 highest years, adds them up and divides by 420, the number of months in 35 years. The result is your average indexed monthly earnings, often shortened to AIME.
If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zero. That is why a short career, or years spent in a job that did not pay into Social Security, lowers your check. It is also why working a few more years can raise it: a new high-earning year can replace a zero or a low year.
Step 2: The benefit formula
Next, your average goes through a formula that gives back a bigger share to lower earners. For people who turn 62 in 2027, it works like this:
| Part of your monthly average | Share you get |
|---|---|
| First $1,340 | 90% |
| From $1,340 to $8,077 | 32% |
| Above $8,077 | 15% |
The dollar points in the middle, called bend points, rise each year with wages. Your bend points are fixed by the year you turn 62.
Here is an example. Say your monthly average comes to $5,000.
- 90% of the first $1,340 is $1,206.
- 32% of the next $3,660 is $1,171.
- Your total is about $2,377 a month.
This is your primary insurance amount, the benefit you get if you claim at your full retirement age. A worker who earned twice as much does not get twice the check. That is by design: the formula replaces about 40% to 50% of pay for a middle earner, and a larger share for someone who earned less.
Step 3: The age you claim
The last step is the one you control. Your full benefit is paid at your full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Claim earlier and the check is cut for life. Wait longer and it grows, up to age 70.
| Claim at | Share of full benefit |
|---|---|
| 62 | 70% |
| 65 | 86.7% |
| 67 | 100% |
| 70 | 124% |
In the example above, $2,377 at 67 becomes about $1,664 at 62, or about $2,947 at 70. That is a difference of almost $1,300 a month for the rest of your life, based only on when you start. Try your own numbers in the when to claim calculator.
Then come yearly raises
Starting the year you turn 62, every cost-of-living raise is added to your benefit, even if you have not claimed yet. The raise for 2027 is 3.6%. Because raises are a percentage, a bigger starting check grows by more dollars every year.
What can raise your benefit
- Working longer. Each year that beats one of your 35 best years lifts your average.
- Filling zero years. If you have fewer than 35 years, even modest earnings replace a zero.
- Waiting to claim. Every month you wait until 70 adds to your check for life.
- Fixing mistakes. Check your earnings record at ssa.gov. A missing year can cost you money for decades.
What lowers it
- Claiming early. Starting at 62 cuts the check by 30% for life.
- Gaps in work. Years out of the workforce, or in jobs that did not pay into Social Security, count as zero.
- Working while claiming early. Before full retirement age, earning over $25,560 in 2027 means part of your check is held back for a while. See the 2027 earnings limit.
Spouses and survivors use your number too
Your full benefit also sets what your family can get. A spouse can receive up to half of it. A widow or widower can receive up to all of it, including any increase you earned by waiting. That is why the higher earner in a couple often has the most reason to wait. See the spousal and survivor calculator.
A note for public workers
If you had a job that did not pay into Social Security, those years count as zero in step 1. Your other jobs still count, and since the Social Security Fairness Act took effect for 2024, your pension no longer reduces the result. You need at least 40 credits to qualify, which the 40-credit checker can count for you.
Where to see your own numbers
Your my Social Security account at ssa.gov shows your full earnings record and estimates at 62, full retirement age and 70. Those estimates assume you keep earning about what you earn now until you claim. If you plan to stop working early, your real benefit may be lower.