What does retiring early actually do to your Social Security? Build a synthetic earnings history (nothing to paste, nothing stored), see the honest bend-point math on your $0 years, and compare claiming at 62 vs 67 vs 70 with break-even ages.
Estimate your Social Security benefit if you retire early. Model the $0 years in your top-35 average, see the bend-point math that makes them hurt less than feared, compare claiming at 62 vs 67 vs 70 with break-even ages, and see what the benefit does to your FIRE number.
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Your benefit is based on your top 35 earning years — retire at 45 and the missing years become $0s in that average. But the bend-point formula is progressive: the first slice of your average is replaced at 90%, the next at 32%, and everything above the second bend point at only 15%. So for most solid earners, stopping 20 years early cuts the benefit far less than feared — often 20–30%, not 50%+. This calculator shows your exact number.
Claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full-retirement-age benefit; waiting until 70 pays 124%. The break-even is longevity: with the standard factors, claiming at 70 doesn't pass a 62 claim in cumulative dollars until around age 80. The calculator charts all three claiming ages against your life expectancy and marks each break-even crossover.
No. It's a simplified planning model: today's dollars only, full retirement age fixed at 67 (born 1960+), no WEP/GPO, no survivor or divorced-spouse benefits, no earnings test, and no taxation of benefits — and your synthetic earnings history is an approximation of your real record. Check ssa.gov/myaccount for your official estimate and confirm any real claiming decision with a qualified professional.