This calculator is a simplified projection tool provided strictly for educational and illustrative purposes. It does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice.
Built on SSA wage base, bend points, and benefit formula for 2025. Update the figures in the SSA config block when new annual values are published.
- Flat Wage Assumption: Assumes your career earnings track the National Average Wage Index (AWI) as a flat percentage of the maximum wage base.
- Real CPI-W Dollars: All outputs are in inflation-adjusted (Real) dollars. Taxes and benefits are scaled dynamically based on the AWI vs. CPI-W spread.
- AWI to CPI-W Transition at 62: Up to age 62, your projected benefit grows with real wages (AWI). At age 62, the benefit formula is locked. From 62 onward, benefits only grow by inflation (CPI-W), meaning they are held flat in Real dollars.
- FRA at 67: Claiming multipliers assume a Full Retirement Age of exactly 67 (accurate for those born 1960+).
- Benefit Taxation: Assumes 85% of your total benefit is subject to your selected retirement income marginal tax rate.
- Spousal Benefit Timing: The SSA requires the primary earner to file before a spouse collects spousal benefits. This model ignores that rule for simplicity.
- The Earnings Test: This calculator does not model the SSA earnings test withholding if you claim before FRA while working.
- Binary Mortality: Assumes cash flow drops instantly to $0 upon exact life expectancy rather than using actuarial probability weighting.