Claiming age
Last updated September 20, 2026
Every Social Security claiming age from 62 to 70, ranked against your plan, using the real early-claiming reductions and delayed-credit increases.
Claiming early permanently reduces the monthly benefit; delaying past full retirement age permanently increases it. We apply the actual adjustment factors rather than a rule of thumb, so the trade-off you see is the real one.
For one person that's nine ages. For a couple it's every combination of both ages, because the two decisions interact — the survivor keeps the higher of the two benefits, so the higher earner's choice outlives them.
A survivor column shows what the surviving spouse would be left with under each combination, which is often what changes someone's mind.
One limit: we don't model true spousal benefits. Each person's benefit is calculated from their own record.