Free Tool

Social Security Optimizer

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.

Current Age35

Your age today. Future working years run from here to your stop-work age.

Stop Working At45

The FIRE lever: the age your SS-covered earnings stop. Every year between here and 35 total working years is a $0 in your top-35 average.

Years Already Worked13

Past years with any SS-covered earnings (W-2 or self-employment). You need 40 credits — roughly 10 years — to qualify for retirement benefits at all.

Current Income$100,000

Your current annual SS-covered wages. Only earnings up to the taxable wage base ($184,500 for 2026) count toward your benefit.

Career Average %75%

Your past years' average income as a percent of today's — approximates your earlier, lower-earning years without pasting your real earnings record.

Claiming Age67

When benefits start. Claiming at 62 pays 70% of your full-retirement-age amount; waiting to 70 pays 124%. Full retirement age is fixed at 67 (born 1960+).

Retirement Spending$60,000

Annual spending in retirement (today's dollars) — used for the FIRE-number impact card to show what share Social Security covers.

YOUR BENEFIT AT 67, IN TODAY'S DOLLARS

$2,251/mo

Retiring at 45 instead of working until 67 lowers your age-67 benefit by $1,036/mo (31.5%) — from $3,286 to $2,251. Thanks to the bend points, the $0 years usually hurt far less than people fear.

Full Benefit at 67

$2,251/mo

claiming at 67 → ×1.00

AIME

$4,702/mo

top-35-year average, 12 zero years

stwlth.com

Bend-Point Ladder

Your AIME = $4,702/mo. The formula replaces 90% of the first $1,286, 32% up to $7,749, and only 15% above — extra working years barely move the needle once you're past the second bend point.

15%$7,749+Not reached

32%$1,286 – $7,749+$1,093/moYou are here

90%$0 – $1,286+$1,157/moFilled

Cumulative Lifetime Benefits — Claim at 62 vs 67 vs 70 (to age 90)

Claim at 62Claim at 67Claim at 70

Cumulative Lifetime Benefits — Claim at 62 vs 67 vs 70 (to age 90)
Period	Claim at 62	Claim at 67	Claim at 70
62	$19K	$0	$0
63	$38K	$0	$0
64	$57K	$0	$0
65	$76K	$0	$0
66	$95K	$0	$0
67	$113K	$27K	$0
68	$132K	$54K	$0
69	$151K	$81K	$0
70	$170K	$108K	$33K
71	$189K	$135K	$67K
72	$208K	$162K	$100K
73	$227K	$189K	$134K
74	$246K	$216K	$167K
75	$265K	$243K	$201K
76	$284K	$270K	$234K
77	$302K	$297K	$268K
78	$321K	$324K	$301K
79	$340K	$351K	$335K
80	$359K	$378K	$368K
81	$378K	$405K	$402K
82	$397K	$432K	$435K
83	$416K	$459K	$469K
84	$435K	$486K	$502K
85	$454K	$513K	$536K
86	$473K	$540K	$569K
87	$492K	$567K	$603K
88	$510K	$594K	$636K
89	$529K	$621K	$670K
90	$548K	$648K	$703K

Claiming 67 beats 62 from age 78Claiming 70 beats 62 from age 80Claiming 70 beats 67 from age 82

What This Does to Your FIRE Number

Spending Covered from 67

45%

$27,008/yr of your $60,000/yr spend

Portfolio Needed After 67 Drops By

$675,193

covered spend ÷ 4% withdrawal rate

Frame it honestly: Social Security is a pay raise at 67, not a reason to shrink today's target — you still have to bridge every year from your FIRE date to 67 from the portfolio alone. Model the bridge with the One More Year Calculator and feed this benefit into the Withdrawal Order Optimizer to sequence the drawdown around it.

Assumptions & Limits

Everything is in today's dollars — wage indexing and COLA are skipped (they roughly cancel in real terms). 2026 bend points ($1,286 / $7,749) and wage base ($184,500) are used.
Your earnings history is synthetic — past years at your career-average income, future years at current income — nothing to paste from SSA, nothing stored.
Full retirement age is fixed at 67 (born 1960 or later — the entire FIRE audience). No month-granular birthdates.
No WEP/GPO, no survivor-benefit optimization, no divorced-spouse benefits — only the simple 50% spousal case.
The earnings test (claiming before 67 while still working) is not modeled — mostly irrelevant once you've stopped working.
Federal benefit formula only — no state taxation of benefits and no federal income tax on the benefits themselves.
Working past 62 while claiming later is treated as one earnings history — SSA's annual benefit recomputation is approximated, not replicated.

This is a simplified planning model built on SSA's published formula, not a projection of your actual benefit — your real earnings record, indexing, and future law changes all move the number. For an official estimate, check your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount. Not tax or financial advice; confirm any claiming decision with a qualified professional.