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If you’re planning for retirement, you’ve likely wondered what you can expect in Social Security payments. Most people know that they’re entitled to monthly benefits, but few understand how those benefits are calculated or what they can do now to make the most of them later. 

 

In this article, I’ll break down the formulas and factors that shape your Social Security retirement benefit. From identifying your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) to translating those earnings into your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), I’ll share clear, step-by-step explanations of how the math works, why timing matters, and what your Social Security retirement benefit means for your long-term financial planning. 

 

Log in to Sensible Friends to read the full analysis and see how your earnings history, birth year, and filing decisions will all shape your future retirement income. 

 

You’ll learn: 

• How to calculate your benefit, starting with your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) 

• What bend points are, and how they provide a higher percentage benefit to lower-income earners 

• The key differences between filing age, eligibility age, and retirement age—and how they affect your payout 

• The significance of the age 62 for Social Security benefits 

• How filing early or delaying past your full retirement age can permanently increase or reduce your monthly benefit 

• How Social Security benefits fit into a broader financial plan and impact your long-term income goals 

 

Planning for retirement involves more than setting a date. You need to know where your retirement income will come from, and how much of it will be from your Social Security benefit. By learning how the Social Security Administration calculates your benefit, you can make more informed decisions about when to file, how to manage your income, and what kind of monthly income you can reasonably rely on. 

 

Log in to Sensible Friends to see the full calculation and find out what you should expect from Social Security.