Wealth & retirement · super (composes 3 primitives)
Social Security claim optimizer
Type your estimated benefit at FRA (from your SSA statement). We chain the four canonical claim ages with their reductions and credits, the spousal benefit if married, the breakeven age between strategies, and the lifetime PV given your longevity assumption.
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Inputs
Result
Best strategy: claim at 62 → $3,730/mo household, $765,793 lifetime PV at your longevity (87).
Take it early: Your longevity assumption pulls the optimal age earlier. Stress-test by adding 5 years to longevity — does the answer flip?
- 1
Claim at 62 (30% reduction)
$3,730/mo · PV $765,793
Permanent 30% reduction. Earliest available — useful if longevity is short or you need the cash.
Stand-alone calc - 2
Claim at 67 (FRA)
$4,600/mo · PV $706,270
Full PIA. Default for most people.
- 3
Claim at 70 (32% credits)
$5,296/mo · PV $664,162
Each year delayed past FRA = 8% more, capped at 70. Best longevity hedge.
- 4
Spousal benefit (lower earner)
$1,700
Greater of own $1,700 or 50% of higher PIA ($1,450)
- 5
Breakeven age 62 vs 67
78
Live past this age and 67-claim wins on cumulative dollars
- 6
Breakeven age 67 vs 70
82
Typical breakeven 80-82. Past this age, 70-claim wins.
- 7
Lifetime PV at age 87 (real 2.5% discount)
$765,793
Best of the three strategies given your longevity assumption
Assumptions & notes
- PIA reductions and credits are statutory: ~6-7%/yr early reduction (capped 30%), 8%/yr delayed credit (capped at 70).
- Earnings test applies if you claim before FRA and continue working — $1 withheld for every $2 over the limit. Withheld benefits are recouped at FRA.
- Spousal modeling here is simplified. Survivor benefits, divorced-spouse, and government-pension-offset all add complexity.
Multi-scenario comparison
What if — ±20% on one input
| Scenario | Current age | Headline | Δ vs baseline | Magnitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| −20% (cautious) | 46.4 | Best strategy: claim at 62 → $3,730/mo household, $575,062 lifetime PV at your longevity (87). | $-190,731 | |
| Baseline | 58 | Best strategy: claim at 62 → $3,730/mo household, $765,793 lifetime PV at your longevity (87). | 0 | |
| +20% (aggressive) | 69.6 | Best strategy: claim at 70 → $5,296/mo household, $884,445 lifetime PV at your longevity (87). | +$79,499 |
Try the input with the highest sensitivity (above). The Δ column shows the dollar swing from a 20% move — that's how much room you have for a counter, raise, or hedge.
Goal seek
Solve for an input value
Pick the input you want to vary and the output you care about. We'll find the input value that gets you to the target. Bisection-based; converges in < 50 iterations.
Monte Carlo simulation
Distribution under input uncertainty (500 trials)
We perturb every numeric input with normal-distributed noise (10–25% sigma depending on input type) and run 500 compute trials. The output is a probability distribution, not a single number — closer to how finance actually works.
Most-leveraged inputs (sensitivity analysis)
Where to focus — what moves the answer most
Each input perturbed ±10%; measured impact on Claim at 62 (30% reduction). Higher elasticity = bigger lever.
- 1
Longevity assumption (age you'll live to)
Elasticity ↑ 2.45× — 10% change in this input increases Claim at 62 (30% reduction) by 24.5%.
- 2
Current age
Elasticity ↑ 1.19× — 10% change in this input increases Claim at 62 (30% reduction) by 11.9%.
- 3
Estimated monthly benefit at FRA (age 67)
Elasticity ↑ 0.54× — 10% change in this input increases Claim at 62 (30% reduction) by 5.4%.
- 4
Spouse's monthly benefit at their FRA
Elasticity ↑ 0.46× — 10% change in this input increases Claim at 62 (30% reduction) by 4.6%.
ShowMath is the only calc site that surfaces this. Adjust the highest-leverage input first — that's where small moves create big results.
Chain payload (for the 3D constellation)
{
"slug": "social-security-claim-optimizer",
"depth": 1,
"primitives": [
"social-security-breakeven-age",
"spousal-benefit-calculator",
"longevity-pv-calculator"
],
"composes": [],
"chain": [
{
"key": "claim_62",
"label": "Claim at 62 (30% reduction)",
"primitive": "social-security-breakeven-age",
"numeric": 765792.8015205924
},
{
"key": "claim_fra",
"label": "Claim at 67 (FRA)",
"numeric": 706270.2821261964
},
{
"key": "claim_70",
"label": "Claim at 70 (32% credits)",
"numeric": 664161.6116820788
},
{
"key": "spousal_benefit",
"label": "Spousal benefit (lower earner)",
"primitive": "spousal-benefit-calculator",
"numeric": 1700
},
{
"key": "breakeven_62_67",
"label": "Breakeven age 62 vs 67",
"numeric": 78
},
{
"key": "breakeven_67_70",
"label": "Breakeven age 67 vs 70",
"numeric": 82
},
{
"key": "longevity_pv",
"label": "Lifetime PV at age 87 (real 2.5% discount)",
"primitive": "longevity-pv-calculator",
"numeric": 765792.8015205924
}
]
}The chain explained
Each step above corresponds to a primitive calculator. Click any to see the stand-alone version with its own explainer + sources.
- social security breakeven age
- spousal benefit calculatorshipping soon
- longevity pv calculatorshipping soon
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