The Social Security Administration (SSA) website provides free calculators you can use to get a sense of the amount of money you’ll receive in the future as your monthly benefit. The calculators are handy tools for getting a rough figure in mind to help you plan ahead and decide when to start your claim, but they can fall short in certain areas. They do not offer advice based on the full scope of factors in your life, so be sure to use them as a starting point, and not as the final say. Take note: This tool comes up with your earnings based on data that you provide. It does not access your true earnings record, and cannot predict what you might make years from now. You may even change career paths. So even though it comes from the SSA, it may not match what you see down the line on your checks or statement. One thing to keep in mind is that the amount they predict assumes that you will keep working until the standard age of 65, which is when most people retire. There’s no way to adjust this default if you plan to retire before age 65, or much later. Also, this figure won’t reflect any changes in dollars to adjust for inflation. This is a shame because it causes many people to lowball how much they could receive in the future by waiting until age 70 to begin their claim. This feature on the SSA website allows you to change any of the three factors above to see how the changes will affect your future checks. It asks for your Social Security number, date of birth, place of birth, and mother’s maiden name. It uses this data to look in the system at your true work history and earnings record. It then provides you with a pretty close figure of what you can expect to receive each month after you retire. This tool can work well if you are single, but if you are not single it may be flawed. For instance, it will not show you the extra impact that spousal or survivor benefits may have on your check, or on that of your current or future spouse. Keep in mind that if you have been married for over ten years (or if you will be by the time you retire), you may be able to receive ex-spousal benefits. The calculator described here does not have a way to plan for this option either. You will need a copy of your most recent Social Security statement as you must input your complete earnings since you first started working. The tool also makes it easy to see all the steps that happen behind the scenes, so you’ll get a sneak peek of how the Feds come up with your final amount. There are a few missing pieces though. It does not show you such perks as how to claim jointly for married couples. Many couples make the big mistake of looking at their benefit election as if they were single. By doing so, they don’t factor in the effects of spousal and survivor benefits, and they end up making choices that don’t serve their best case.
