Your monthly Social Security retirement benefit is calculated using your highest 35 years of inflation-adjusted earnings, a specific formula, and your age when you begin receiving benefits.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) determines your retirement benefit by first calculating your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) over your highest 35 years of earnings. These earnings are adjusted for inflation to reflect their value in today's dollars. Then, a formula is applied to your AIME to arrive at your primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the benefit you would receive at your full retirement age. Finally, your benefit amount is adjusted based on whether you start receiving benefits before, at, or after your full retirement age.
This information provides a general overview of how Social Security retirement benefits are calculated and does not constitute financial advice.
Can I choose which 35 years of earnings Social Security uses?
No, you cannot choose which 35 years of earnings Social Security uses for your benefit calculation. The Social Security Administration automatically uses your 35 highest-earning years on record, after adjusting those earnings for inflation (indexing). The system identifies all your years with earnings and selects the 35 that contributed the most to your cumulative earnings record. If you have fewer than 35 years with earnings, the remaining years are automatically treated as zero earnings, which can lower your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) and, consequently, your monthly benefit.