Want to help your clients determine how much income they may receive while collecting Social Security? Or how much taking their Social Security payments earlier than their Full Retirement Age may affect their monthly amount?
Simply enter the information show below and the calculator will estimate what their Social Security benefits might be when they retire. Remember, this only provides an estimate, but it can serve as a valuable tool in your clients’ retirement income planning.
Social Security Calculator Definitions
Social Security income
Social Security is based on a sliding scale depending on your clients’ income, how long they work and at what age they retire. Social Security benefits automatically increases each year based on increases in the Consumer Price Index. Including a spouse increases their Social Security benefits by 1.5 times their individual estimated benefit.
Please note that this calculator assumes that only one of the spouses work. Benefits could be different if the other spouse worked and earned a benefit higher than one half of their benefit. If your clients are a married couple, and both spouses work, you may need to run the calculation twice - once for each spouse and their respective income. This calculator provides only an estimate of their benefits.
The calculations use the 2010 FICA income limit of $106,800 with an annual maximum Social Security benefit of $27,876 per year for a single person and 1.5 times this amount for a married couple. To receive the maximum benefit would require earning the maximum FICA salary for nearly their entire career. They would also need to begin receiving benefits at their full retirement age of 66 or 67 (depending on their birthdate). Your clients’ actual benefit may be lower or higher depending on their work history and the complete compensation rules used by Social Security.
Current age
Their current age.
Age of retirement
Age they desire to retire.
Household income
Your client’s total household income. If they are married, this should include their spouse's income.
Expected salary increase
Annual percent increase your clients expect in their household income.
Expected rate of inflation
What you expect for the average long-term inflation rate. A common measure of inflation in the U.S. is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has a long-term average of 3.1% annually, from 1925 through 2009. The CPI for 2009 was -1.0%, as reported by the Minneapolis Federal Reserve.
Are you married?
Check this box if your clients are married. Married couples have a higher maximum Social Security benefit than single wage earners.
Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.