How Much Social Security Will I Get?
Where to find your actual number
Create or sign in to your account at ssa.gov/myaccount. Your statement shows estimated benefits at 62, at full retirement age, and at 70, based on your real earnings record. Everything else is an approximation of that.
While you are there, check the earnings history itself. Missing or misreported years lower your benefit, and they are much easier to correct with old tax records than without.
How the formula works
1. Take your highest 35 years of earnings, indexed for wage growth.
2. Average them into a monthly figure.
3. Apply a tiered formula that replaces a high share of the first slice of income and a much lower share of the rest.
Two consequences most people miss. If you worked fewer than 35 years, the missing years count as zeros and drag the average down — so one more working year can replace a zero and raise the benefit permanently. And because the formula is deliberately progressive, a high earner receives more in dollars but a smaller share of their prior income.
What changes the number
| Factor | Effect |
|---|---|
| Claiming at 62 | About 30% less, permanently |
| Claiming at 70 | About 24% more, permanently |
| Fewer than 35 working years | Zeros pull the average down |
| Working while claiming before FRA | Benefits withheld temporarily, restored later |
| Cost-of-living adjustment | Applied annually to whatever you receive |
The number is not what you keep
Two things come out before the money reaches you. Medicare Part B is deducted directly from the benefit, and if your income is above the IRMAA threshold the deduction is larger. And up to 85% of the benefit can be federally taxable depending on your other income.
So the figure on your statement is the gross. What actually arrives is smaller, and how much smaller depends on decisions you still control.
Check your own number
Three inputs, instant answer, nothing gated. The email step afterwards is optional.
| Provisional income | $0 |
| Which tier you land in | — |
| Share of benefit taxed | 0% |
We will email you a written copy showing how the math worked, what would change your tier, and the thresholds for next year. Free, and you can keep it or forward it to whoever does your taxes.
Educational follow-up by email. We never sell your information.
Common questions
How much Social Security will I get?
Your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of earnings run through a progressive formula. In 2026 the maximum at full retirement age is roughly $4,000 a month and the average retired worker receives roughly $2,000. Your personal estimate is on your statement at ssa.gov/myaccount.
What is the maximum Social Security benefit in 2026?
Roughly $4,000 a month at full retirement age, and higher if you delay to 70. Reaching the maximum requires having earned at or above the taxable maximum for 35 years.
What is the average Social Security check?
Roughly $2,000 a month for a retired worker. Your own amount depends entirely on your earnings history and the age you claim.
Does working longer increase my Social Security?
It can, in two ways. If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, additional years replace zeros in the average. And if you now earn more than one of your existing 35 years, the higher year replaces the lower one.
Is the amount on my statement what I actually receive?
No, it is the gross. Medicare Part B is deducted directly from the benefit, and up to 85% of the benefit can be federally taxable depending on your other income.
These numbers change every year
The IRMAA brackets, the standard deduction and the senior deduction are all adjusted annually, and the 2027 figures are published late in 2026. The Social Security taxation thresholds are the one exception — those have not moved since 1983 and are not expected to.
We send one short email when the new numbers are announced. No campaign, no sequence — one email when there is something worth knowing.
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See what you would keep after tax
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