Personal Finance

The Best Social Security Calculators You Can Use for Free

David Beren

Published: January 8, 2025 9:37 am

One thing soon-to-be retirees need to start looking at carefully is where they fall in terms of Social Security benefits. Whether you start taking withdrawals at 62, 67, or 70, it’s important to understand what impact Social Security withdrawals will have on your income level while retired. 

Of course, the most important thing isn’t just necessarily knowing how you will handle Social Security but exactly how much you will be handling. For this reason, you can look at multiple Social Security calculators online to help estimate how much you can expect when you reach this point in your life. 

Nerd Wallet

Overall, Nerd Wallet offers a simple and basic approach to calculating how much you can expect to draw from Social Security. To use this service, you’ll add your date of birth and your desired age to start Social Security, choosing between 62 and 70. Additionally, you’ll add in your annual income this year and the expected yearly salary increase, percentage-wise, which will help the calculator determine your anticipated earnings between now and the time you wish to begin withdrawals. 

Once you add everything for calculation, you’ll see two sets of results, the first being the “Benefit at Desired Retirement Age.” The results will show you both monthly and annual numbers. In addition, Nerd Wallet will also show you the difference if you took benefits at 67, otherwise known as the Full Retirement Age, when Social Security hits 100% payout. 

As a bonus, Nerd Wallet also shows a fantastic chart that lets you visualize exactly where the numbers would stand every year between 62 and 70. Based on the results I ran, Nerd Wallet numbers look relatively accurate. However, the numbers can vary considerably because it is complex to provide an exact look at how much you plan to earn between 2025 and the time you turn 62. 

Bankrate

One of the most in-depth Social Security Calculators around, Bankrate is the calculator to start with if you want an accurate sense of what to expect with payments. Bankrate will be the most resourceful in targeting your optimal claiming age of all the calculators on this list. 

Starting off, you’ll add your current age, the age you hope to retire, and your annual income. You’ll also include your expected salary increase and inflation rate to calculate the results best. You can also select whether you are married or single, which will help calculate what Social Security looks like for couples or individuals. When all the numbers are entered, click “Calculate,” and the results will quickly appear. 

Once all the numbers are shown, you’ll see a line bar of results and a full-on graph with a visual look at how your Social Security will accrue over time. In addition, it’ll give you an approximate result of exactly how much you hope to earn per year and month during every year of retirement. 

Sadly, the only disappointment with Bankrate is that you can’t calculate results with a working spouse. This negative aside, it’s a very easy system, and the visual look at your benefits is a great inclusion. 

Social Security Administration 

Understandably, the most detailed calculator on this list comes directly from the Social Security Administration. You’ll have the same basic information available to input, such as date of birth, anticipated date of retirement, 2024 earnings, and earnings expected in 2025. 

However, things get interesting with the Social Security Administration because you can enter earnings all the way back to 1951. This will give you something of a concrete look at where you stand and help you narrow down the math to almost exactly what you should expect to earn. 

As Social Security benefits are paid based on your top 35 years of wages, only the Social Security Administration can offer such an exact approach. When using the SSA website, things get even more accurate as you can go beyond your benefit amount by adding in your monthly disability benefit and any survivor benefits if eligible. 

Unfortunately, the calculator doesn’t make any difference between single people and married couples, but it’s the most accurate Social Security calculator you will find online today. While it requires adding more information with your years of earning history, it’s all straightforward to use. 

AARP

While AARP is a great website for all kinds of information about retirement benefits, it’s a little sparse as far as calculating Social Security withdrawals. However, in many cases, simpler is better, and the website can still give you an approximate look at what you anticipate receiving when you start claiming benefits. 

The good news is that AARP stands out in a big way because it allows you to enter spousal information, something other calculators on this list make the mistake of not offering. For this reason alone, AARP is a top recommendation because it allows you to create two specific calculation types. This is why it is no surprise that the website receives more than 1 million visits annually. 

On the negative side, unlike Bankrate or Nerd Wallet, where AARP lacks is that you can’t make any calculations based on inflation. While this won’t be an issue for many, it makes a difference for some. The same goes for the AARP website, which defaults to everyone claiming their benefits at 70 instead of the Full Retirement Age of 67. 

With all of this said, the AARP website is as simple as it gets, and after you make a calculation, it still shows your anticipated monthly benefit at 62, 67, and 70 as the key claiming ages. However, you can click a tab to see all ages between 62 and 70. 

Choosing the Right Calculator 

All these tools are a good place to start, especially if you have a pretty straightforward work history with a salary. What’s excellent about websites from AARP and Bankrate is that they provide the calculation for you and offer detailed explanations. 

AARP, in particular, offers additional information about how marital status can and will affect your benefits, something other calculators on this list do not. The biggest considerations for any calculator should be accuracy, ease of use, and the ability to customize your information, something all of these calculators excel at to various degrees. 

There are dozens of calculators online, and they will all calculate things differently, so you want to experiment with fewer calculators rather than more. Choosing any calculator from this list will help you understand how much you can expect to earn and at what age, which can be invaluable when looking at when exactly you want to retire and how to maximize your benefits payout.