How do i find out my social security benefit amount

Benefit Calculation Examples for Workers Retiring in 2023

We illustrate the calculation of retirement benefits using two examples, labeled case A and case B. In each case, the worker retires in 2023. Case A, born in 1961, retires at age 62. Case B, born in 1957, retires at his normal (or full) retirement age. In each case, we assume the worker has covered earnings from 1983 through 2022, as shown at right in columns labeled "nominal earnings."

Indexing brings nominal earnings up to near-current wage levels. For each case, the table shows columns of earnings before and after indexing. Between these columns is a column showing the indexing factors. A factor will always equal one for the year in which the person attains age 60 and all later years. The indexing factor for a prior year Y is the result of dividing the average wage index for the year in which the person attains age 60 by the average wage index for year Y. For example, the case-A indexing factor for 1983 is the average wage for 2021 ($60,575.07) divided by the average wage for 1983 ($15,239.24).

We use the highest 35 years of indexed earnings in a benefit computation. The dropped indexed amounts are shown in red. Below the indexed earnings are the sums for the highest 35 years of indexed earnings and the corresponding average monthly amounts of such earnings. (The average is the result of dividing the sum of the 35 highest amounts by the number of months in 35 years.) Such an average is called an "average indexed monthly earnings" (AIME). The next step is to calculate benefits based on AIME amounts.

Earnings before and after indexing

Year	Case A, born in 1961	Case B, born in 1957
Nominal earnings	Indexing factor	Indexed earnings	Nominal earnings	Indexing factor	Indexed earnings
1983	$14,249	3.9749	$56,639	$35,700	3.3021	$117,886
1984	15,134	3.7542	56,817	37,800	3.1188	117,890
1985	15,828	3.6008	56,994	39,600	2.9913	118,457
1986	16,349	3.4970	57,173	42,000	2.9051	122,015
1987	17,446	3.2874	57,352	43,800	2.7310	119,616
1988	18,362	3.1331	57,530	45,000	2.6028	117,124
1989	19,149	3.0138	57,710	48,000	2.5036	120,174
1990	20,095	2.8807	57,887	51,300	2.3931	122,766
1991	20,908	2.7772	58,066	53,400	2.3071	123,200
1992	22,053	2.6411	58,244	55,500	2.1941	121,771
1993	22,311	2.6186	58,423	57,600	2.1754	125,301
1994	22,980	2.5502	58,602	60,600	2.1185	128,381
1995	23,974	2.4519	58,781	61,200	2.0369	124,656
1996	25,223	2.3376	58,960	62,700	1.9419	121,756
1997	26,776	2.2087	59,139	65,400	1.8348	119,998
1998	28,262	2.0988	59,317	68,400	1.7436	119,260
1999	29,927	1.9880	59,496	72,600	1.6515	119,901
2000	31,677	1.8839	59,675	76,200	1.5650	119,252
2001	32,529	1.8400	59,852	80,400	1.5285	122,893
2002	32,954	1.8217	60,032	84,900	1.5133	128,483
2003	33,860	1.7782	60,211	87,000	1.4772	128,519
2004	35,539	1.6992	60,389	87,900	1.4116	124,081
2005	36,948	1.6392	60,567	90,000	1.3618	122,560
2006	38,760	1.5672	60,745	94,200	1.3019	122,643
2007	40,639	1.4992	60,925	97,500	1.2454	121,429
2008	41,695	1.4655	61,103	102,000	1.2174	124,177
2009	41,187	1.4879	61,282	106,800	1.2361	132,011
2010	42,283	1.4536	61,461	106,800	1.2075	128,963
2011	43,735	1.4094	61,640	106,800	1.1708	125,045
2012	45,231	1.3667	61,818	110,100	1.1354	125,005
2013	45,941	1.3495	61,996	113,700	1.1211	127,463
2014	47,709	1.3032	62,175	117,000	1.0826	126,667
2015	49,511	1.2594	62,354	118,500	1.0462	123,977
2016	50,214	1.2453	62,533	118,500	1.0345	122,592
2017	52,096	1.2038	62,711	127,200	1.0000	127,200
2018	54,138	1.1616	62,889	128,400	1.0000	128,400
2019	56,326	1.1197	63,068	132,900	1.0000	132,900
2020	58,082	1.0889	63,247	137,700	1.0000	137,700
2021	63,425	1.0000	63,425	142,800	1.0000	142,800
2022	65,712	1.0000	65,712	147,000	1.0000	147,000
Highest-35 total	2,121,964	Highest-35 total	4,411,302
AIME	5,052	AIME	10,503

Note: Nominal earnings for case B are limited by the contribution and benefit base for all years. Case B is an example of a person who has earned at or above the maximum taxable amount in each year.