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A Social Security retirement benefit is calculated from your 35 highest-earning years and then adjusted — permanently — by the age at which you start it. Claiming at 62, the earliest age available, takes roughly 30% off where full retirement age is 67; waiting until 70 adds about 24%. That single timing decision moves the monthly figure more than almost anything else in the system.
Reviewed by Dylan, finance analyst. Figures last checked against the source publications on 2026-08-02.
| Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) | 2.8% | Applied to benefits for 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Full retirement age | 67 | Born 1960 or later. 66 and 10 months if born in 1959 |
| Earliest claiming age | 62 | Roughly a 30% permanent reduction where full retirement age is 67 |
| Delayed retirement credits | +8% per year | From full retirement age until 70 — a maximum of about +24% |
| Maximum monthly benefit at 62 | $2,969 | Requires maximum taxable earnings across 35 years |
| Maximum monthly benefit at full retirement age | $4,207 | |
| Maximum monthly benefit at 70 | $5,181 | |
| Taxable wage base | $184,500 | Up from $176,100 in 2025 |
Full retirement age is the reference point, not the starting line. Claim there and you receive 100% of your calculated benefit. Claim at 62, the earliest age available, and someone whose full retirement age is 67 takes a permanent reduction of roughly 30%. Wait past full retirement age and delayed retirement credits add about 8% for each year until 70, worth around 24% in total.
The spread is wide. For a worker with maximum taxable earnings across 35 years, the 2026 figures run from $2,969 a month at 62 to $5,181 at 70 — the later benefit is about 75% larger. Most people do not have maximum earnings, but the proportions apply regardless of the underlying amount.
The reduction and the credits are permanent. They are not recalculated later, which is why the decision gets more attention than the rest of the programme combined.
Benefits are adjusted each year by a cost-of-living adjustment tied to a consumer price index measure. For 2026 that adjustment is 2.8%. It compounds: because each year's COLA applies to the already-adjusted amount, a larger starting benefit also grows by a larger absolute amount every year thereafter.
The COLA is announced in the autumn for the following year, so the figure above is fixed for 2026 and will be replaced rather than revised.
Social Security payroll tax applies only up to an annual earnings ceiling, which rises to $184,500 in 2026 from $176,100 in 2025. Earnings above that ceiling are not taxed for Social Security — and correspondingly do not count toward the earnings record the benefit is calculated from.
This is the mechanism behind the maximum benefit figures above: reaching them requires earnings at or above the wage base for 35 years, not merely a high salary in recent ones.
The figures on this page are the programme-wide parameters. Your own benefit depends on your specific earnings record, and the Social Security Administration publishes it directly — a my Social Security account shows your recorded earnings and estimates at each claiming age.
This page is general information about how the rules work, not financial advice, and nothing here accounts for your tax position, health, marital status or other income. Those factors change the answer, and a decision this permanent is worth discussing with a qualified adviser.
The cost-of-living adjustment for 2026 is 2.8%. It applies to benefits paid in 2026 and compounds, because each year's adjustment is applied to the already-adjusted benefit. The COLA is announced in the autumn for the following year.
Full retirement age is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and 66 and 10 months for those born in 1959. Claiming at full retirement age pays 100% of your calculated benefit.
Claiming at 62, the earliest age available, permanently reduces the benefit by roughly 30% for someone whose full retirement age is 67. Waiting past full retirement age instead adds about 8% a year until 70, around 24% in total.
For a worker with maximum taxable earnings across 35 years, the 2026 maximum is $2,969 a month at 62, $4,207 at full retirement age and $5,181 at 70. Reaching it requires earnings at or above the taxable wage base, $184,500 in 2026, for 35 years.
Figures sourced from Social Security Administration, SSA — Retirement benefit amounts.
Figures on this page apply to the years stated beside them and were last checked against the source publications on 2026-08-02 by Dylan, finance analyst. This page is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice.