Most people in the US fall under Social Security, and will be eligible for retirement benefits which are automatically adjusted for inflation every year.  Once your retirement benefits begin, they will represent a fixed percentage of your total retirement needs, as regards your quality of life in retirement.

Social Security retirement benefits are an amalgam of  separate legislations over the decades since it was first created in 1935.  It gives significantly more in benefits to low income workers and proportionately less to high income workers, as a percentage of money paid into the system.  Benefits are paid according to your FICA-subject income, so income in excess of that is not counted,

Full Retirement Age

The minimum retirement age under Social Security is age 62.  The full vestment of SS retirement benefit varies depending on your date of birth, up to age 67.   To find your full vestment age, see the table below:

Early Retirement Penalty

If you draw your retirement benefits earlier than your full vestment date, a permanent penalty is applied for each early year, depending on your year of birth.    The following table is for a full retirement age of 67 (born 1966 or later), which will probably be a majority of those using this website   If you were born earlier than 1960, try the link at the bottom of the table.

Click here for a chart of retirement benefits and reductions based on different years of birth.

Delayed Retirement Credits

If you delay drawing your retirement benefits past your full retirement age, a permanent bonus is paid in accordance with the following table, up to age 70.

* past your full retirement age

Averaged Income

The retirement benefits are based on the average FICA taxable income earned under Social Security for the best 35 years of the last 40 years before applying for retirement benefits.  If you did not pay FICA taxes on the income, it won't count.  Zero years of earnings are counted.

In calculating the average, the FICA taxable income you earned is adjusted for inflation for the years 1964  through 2002, but not after that.  Each year, the allowable amounts under the inflation-adjusted years increase.  This makes the calculation of your Social Security retirement benefit a bit complicated.  For a quick estimate, use the benefit calculator below, which was lifted from the SSA calculator Sample 1.

If the above steps are too daunting, the easiest way to to determine your Social Security retirement benefit in today's dollars is to ask the Social Security Administration to do it for you.  You can visit their website at www.ssa.gov to get their contact information, and they also have self-help calculators if you want to do it yourself.

In addition to the amount for your personal SS benefit, your spouse (when eligible) can elect to either receive the SS benefits she earned herself, or the spousal benefit  provided under your benefit, whichever is higher.  To qualify for spousal benefits, a spouse must have been married to you for a minimum of ten years.

©2008, Simon Revere Mouer III
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