Retirement on Paper Start the calculator

62, 67 or 70?

Find your best age to claim Social Security in two minutes. Free, on one page, and we never ask for your Social Security number.

Your three numbers

Type in two things from your own papers. The rest is the official Social Security math.

Your date of birth

It is on your Social Security statement. Get it free at ssa.gov/myaccount. Use the amount at full retirement age, not the one at 62.

We use this age to show what each choice pays you in total.

    Today’s dollars, before taxes and Medicare premiums, without yearly cost-of-living raises.

    Your Medicare dates

    Medicare starts at 65, even if you wait on Social Security. Miss your window, and the Part B premium goes up 10% for every year you were late, for life.

    Your sign-up window

      A Medicare card with a red, white and blue stripe A still from our Medicare video: the seven-month window around the 65th birthday
      Tom, an older man in a navy cardigan Mary, an older woman in a green cardigan

      If you are married

      When one spouse dies, the survivor keeps the larger of the two checks. So the higher earner’s choice decides what the survivor lives on.

      Your spouse’s date of birth

      Three free sheets for your fridge

      A clipboard with a checklist

      Sheets

      ClaimingYour three numbers: 62, full age, 701 page
      MedicareAll your dates and the five traps1 page
      The officeQuestions to ask Social Security1 page

      One email with the sheets, then a few short tips. Unsubscribe with one click. We never sell your address.

      Free, or all of it on paper

      Free

      The calculator, your Medicare dates and three one-page sheets.

      $0

      Open the calculator

      The Decision Workbook

      For couples and for anyone who decides better with a pen.

      $35 one time

      Get the workbook

      Watch it drawn out

      Watch on YouTubeTry it with my numbers

      Plain answers

      No calls. No sales pitch. Just the math.

      An older couple on a porch bench, seen from behind

      What we never do

      We never ask for your Social Security number, never call you, never sell insurance, and never sell your email address.

      Where the numbers come from

      Every rule comes from ssa.gov and medicare.gov. When the rules change each year, we update the calculator and the sheets.

      Start the calculator