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Social Security PIA calculator

By Jude Wallis

Social Security converts AIME into a primary insurance amount with a progressive formula. With bend points of $1,286 and $7,749, an AIME of $5,000 produces a $2,345.80 PIA.

Primary insurance amount

$2,345.80

Raw formula $2,345.88, then floored to the next lower dime.

90 percent slice
$1,157.40
32 percent slice
$1,188.48
15 percent slice
$0.00
PIA after the dime floor
$2,345.80
$

AIME. The highest 35 years of wage-indexed covered earnings, as a monthly average.

$

The AIME amount replaced at 90 percent. Set by the year the worker first becomes eligible.

$

The AIME amount above which the last 15 percent slice begins.

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On this page

The formula

PIAraw=0.90min⁡(A,b1)+0.32min⁡(max⁡(A−b1,0),b2−b1)+0.15max⁡(A−b2,0)\mathrm{PIA}_{raw} = 0.90\min(A,b_1) + 0.32\min(\max(A-b_1,0),b_2-b_1) + 0.15\max(A-b_2,0)

AA is average indexed monthly earnings. b1b_1 and b2b_2 are the bend points for the eligibility year. The raw sum is then floored to the next lower dime.

Three slices, then a dime floor

The first slice of AIME is replaced at 90 percent, the next at 32 percent, and the amount above the second bend point at 15 percent. Crossing a bend point changes only the dollars above that point.

With A=5000A = 5000, b1=1286b_1 = 1286 and b2=7749b_2 = 7749, the first slice is $1,157.40 and the second is $1,188.48. The third slice is 0. Raw PIA is $2,345.88. Flooring to the next lower dime produces $2,345.80.

How Social Security benefits work is the explainer. This page is the working formula.

Bend points belong to the eligibility year

Bend points are wage-indexed and belong to the year a worker first becomes eligible, usually the year the worker turns 62. They do not switch to a later year's points merely because the worker waits to claim.

The defaults on this calculator are one published pair of bend points used in the worked examples. Change them to the pair that applies to the eligibility year you are studying.

AIME itself is built from the highest 35 years of wage-indexed covered earnings. Fewer than 35 years means zero years fill the missing slots.

PIA is the full-retirement-age benchmark

PIA is the monthly worker benefit at full retirement age before deductions and family adjustments. Claiming earlier reduces it. Waiting after full retirement age can raise it through delayed retirement credits, which stop at age 70.

How early Social Security claiming works is the claiming-age layer. Those percentages apply to PIA, not to AIME.

The second example puts $8,000 of AIME through all three slices. The middle slice is $2,068.16 and the top slice is $37.65. Raw PIA is $3,263.21, floored to $3,263.20.

What this page is not doing

It does not wage-index a career, apply the family maximum, withhold Medicare premiums, or run the retirement earnings test. Those sit around PIA.

It also does not pick a claiming age. Enter the bend points and AIME that belong to the case you are studying. This is educational material, not financial advice.

Worked examples

AIME between the two bend points

A worker has AIME of $5,000. The bend points are $1,286 and $7,749. What is the worker's PIA?

  1. First slice: 0.90×1286=1157.400.90 \times 1286 = 1157.40, so $1,157.40.
  2. The second slice is 5000−1286=37145000 - 1286 = 3714. At 32 percent, 0.32×3714=1188.480.32 \times 3714 = 1188.48, so $1,188.48.
  3. AIME does not reach $7,749, so the third slice is 0.
  4. Raw PIA: 1157.40+1188.48+0=2345.881157.40 + 1188.48 + 0 = 2345.88, so $2,345.88.
  5. Floor the raw amount to the next lower dime: $2,345.80.

With $5,000 of AIME, the first slice is $1,157.40, the second is $1,188.48 and the third is 0. Raw PIA is $2,345.88, and PIA after flooring to the dime is $2,345.80.

AIME above the second bend point

A worker has AIME of $8,000. The bend points are $1,286 and $7,749. What is the worker's PIA?

  1. First slice: 0.90×1286=1157.400.90 \times 1286 = 1157.40, so $1,157.40.
  2. The full middle slice is 7749−1286=64637749 - 1286 = 6463. At 32 percent, it contributes $2,068.16.
  3. The top slice is 8000−7749=2518000 - 7749 = 251. At 15 percent, it contributes $37.65.
  4. Raw PIA: 1157.40+2068.16+37.65=3263.211157.40 + 2068.16 + 37.65 = 3263.21, so $3,263.21.
  5. Floor the raw amount to the next lower dime: $3,263.20.

With $8,000 of AIME, the first slice is $1,157.40, the second is $2,068.16 and the third is $37.65. Raw PIA is $3,263.21, and PIA after flooring is $3,263.20.

Treating AIME as the monthly benefit

AIME is the earnings base. PIA is the benefit at full retirement age after the bend-point formula and the dime floor. Claiming age then adjusts PIA again.

Quoting $5,000 as if it were the cheque confuses the input with the output. The first example turns that $5,000 of AIME into a $2,345.80 PIA.

Common questions

Why 35 years?

The retirement formula selects the highest 35 years of covered earnings after applicable wage indexing. Fewer than 35 years means zero years enter the average.

Does waiting after full retirement age increase the benefit?

Delayed retirement credits can raise the worker benefit above PIA until age 70. Those credits apply to PIA, not to AIME, and they stop at 70.

Can I change the bend points?

Yes. The two inputs are the pair that belongs to the eligibility year you are studying. The defaults are the pair used in the worked examples on this page.

Keep reading

This page is educational material, not financial advice. The figures come from the formula shown and assume the inputs you enter hold for the whole term. Your own rate, fees, taxes and timing will differ, so treat the output as arithmetic to check a decision against, not as a recommendation.