The decision of when to claim Social Security is one of the most critical financial choices for retirees. A "Break-Even" analysis determines the age at which the total cumulative benefits of waiting for a larger monthly check will surpass the total benefits received by starting earlier with smaller checks.
Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is the benefit you receive if you claim at your Full Retirement Age (FRA), which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. If you claim at 62, your benefit is reduced by roughly 30%. If you delay until 70, your benefit increases by 8% per year through delayed retirement credits.
Realistic Example:
If your FRA benefit is $2,000:
– Claiming at 62 gives you ~$1,400/month.
– Claiming at 70 gives you ~$2,480/month.
While the age 62 claimant gets an 8-year "head start," the age 70 claimant receives $1,080 more every single month. This calculator finds the exact age where the age 70 claimant's "lifetime total" catches up and overtakes the early claimant.
Factors to Consider Beyond the Math
Health and Longevity: If you expect to live past age 80-82 (the typical break-even range), delaying usually yields more lifetime wealth.
Cash Flow Needs: If you need the money to cover basic expenses now, "breaking even" is secondary to survival.
Spousal Benefits: For the higher-earning spouse, delaying to 70 maximizes the survivor benefit for the remaining spouse.
Taxation: Depending on your other income, a portion of Social Security may be taxable.
function calculateBreakEven() {
var pia = parseFloat(document.getElementById("piaAmount").value);
var ageA = parseInt(document.getElementById("ageOptionA").value);
var ageB = parseInt(document.getElementById("ageOptionB").value);
var fra = 67;
if (isNaN(pia) || pia ageB) {
var tempAge = ageA;
ageA = ageB;
ageB = tempAge;
}
function getBenefit(claimAge, piaVal) {
var monthsDiff = (claimAge – fra) * 12;
var multiplier = 1.0;
if (monthsDiff 0) {
// Delayed credits
multiplier += (monthsDiff * (2/3 / 100));
}
return piaVal * multiplier;
}
var benefitA = getBenefit(ageA, pia);
var benefitB = getBenefit(ageB, pia);
// Break even math
// TotalA = benefitA * (MonthsSinceA)
// TotalB = benefitB * (MonthsSinceB)
// Where MonthsSinceA = MonthsSinceB + (AgeB – AgeA)*12
// benefitA * (MonthsSinceB + MonthDiff) = benefitB * MonthsSinceB
// benefitA*MonthsSinceB + benefitA*MonthDiff = benefitB*MonthsSinceB
// benefitA*MonthDiff = MonthsSinceB * (benefitB – benefitA)
var monthDiff = (ageB – ageA) * 12;
var monthsToBreakEven = (benefitA * monthDiff) / (benefitB – benefitA);
var breakEvenAge = ageB + (monthsToBreakEven / 12);
var totalAtBreakEven = benefitB * monthsToBreakEven;
// Update UI
document.getElementById("ss-results").style.display = "block";
document.getElementById("labelA").innerText = "Claim at Age " + ageA;
document.getElementById("labelB").innerText = "Claim at Age " + ageB;
document.getElementById("monthlyA").innerText = "$" + benefitA.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById("monthlyB").innerText = "$" + benefitB.toLocaleString(undefined, {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
document.getElementById("annualA").innerText = "$" + (benefitA * 12).toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 0});
document.getElementById("annualB").innerText = "$" + (benefitB * 12).toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 0});
document.getElementById("totalA").innerText = "$" + (benefitA * (monthsToBreakEven + monthDiff)).toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 0});
document.getElementById("totalB").innerText = "$" + totalAtBreakEven.toLocaleString(undefined, {maximumFractionDigits: 0});
var resultText = "Your Break-Even Age is " + breakEvenAge.toFixed(1) + " years old.";
document.getElementById("resultSummary").innerText = resultText;
// Scroll to results
document.getElementById("ss-results").scrollIntoView({ behavior: 'smooth', block: 'nearest' });
}