You must earn a minimum of 40 credits or 10 years of earnings to qualify for Social Security benefits. The more you earn, the larger your monthly benefit will be. In 2023, workers and employers pay 6.2% of their wages toward Social Security. While this is commonly referred to as the “Social Security tax,” it’s actually an investment. When you retire, your benefits will be taxable on up to 85 percent of your income, depending on how much you earned in other sources of income. The SSA calculates this on a sliding scale, and the money you pay in taxes goes back into Social Security. You can use the SSA’s quick calculator to estimate your Social Security benefits. Enter your birth date, expected retirement date, and other information to get a personalized estimate.
How Much Will I Get in Social Security at Age 70?
The amount you get in Social Security retirement benefits depends on a number of factors, including your age and how long you’ve worked. You can start collecting at 62, but your monthly benefit will be less than if you wait until full retirement age (66 for people born before 1955 and 67 for everyone else). You can also delay collecting benefits until 70, which can double them.
Social Security benefits are calculated based on your earnings in 35 of the highest-paid years. Then, those wages are indexed for inflation, so they have the same buying power in today’s dollars. If you work in a field with low wages, or if your earnings vary widely from year to year, it’s hard to make up for this with the Social Security payments you’ll receive. However, spousal benefits may help compensate for lower incomes.
If you’re unsure how much to expect from your Social Security payments, finance sites offer free calculators to help estimate your future payouts. These calculators will ask for your birth date, current annual income, and the age at which you plan to retire. You can enter either your own age or your spouse’s age if you’re married. Then, it will run a series of scenarios to determine your potential benefits.
How Much Will I Get in Social Security at Age 55?
Using a calculator, you can estimate your Social Security retirement benefit based on your age and average earnings. Your actual benefits depend on your work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security. For example, if you retire at 55 and have 20 to 30 years of service credit, your monthly benefit will be equal to 1.66 percent of your Final Average Salary (FAS). However, this figure can vary depending on how much you earned during the year you were born and other factors. It’s also important to consider other sources of income in your planning process, such as retirement savings or a pension from a previous employer. You should also factor in the amount you can withdraw penalty-free from your 401k or IRA account.
A calculator can estimate Social Security retirement benefits for single people who have never been married or divorced, as well as married couples and widowed spouses with at least 10 combined years of marriage. It does not calculate survivors benefits for widows or widowers, whose payments are based on their spouse’s earnings. In addition, a calculator does not estimate how your monthly Social Security payment will be adjusted for inflation. You can get a more accurate estimate by creating a personal My Social Security account on the SSA website.