Primary Insurance Amount (PIA)
Published: 9/19/2025
Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is the most important number in Social Security. It's the dollar amount you'll receive each month if you start collecting benefits at your Normal Retirement Age (NRA). Understanding how PIA is calculated helps you make informed decisions about your career, retirement timing, and overall Social Security strategy.
Key Takeaways
- PIA = Your benefit at Full Retirement Age (FRA) - File early and you get less; delay and you get more
- Based on your highest 35 years - Your AIME (average indexed earnings) feeds into the PIA formula
- Progressive formula - Lower earners replace more of their income (90%) than higher earners (15%)
- 2026 bendpoints: $1,286 and $7,749 - These thresholds determine your benefit calculation brackets
What is the Primary Insurance Amount?
The Primary Insurance Amount is the foundation for all Social Security benefit calculations. Whether you're calculating retirement benefits, spousal benefits, survivor benefits, or disability benefits, they all start with your PIA.
Your PIA is calculated from your Averaged Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME) using a progressive formula with "bendpoints" that ensures lower-income workers receive a higher percentage of their pre-retirement income from Social Security.
The Bendpoint Formula
Social Security uses a three-tiered progressive formula to calculate your PIA from your AIME. This formula uses two "bendpoints" that divide your AIME into three brackets, each with its own replacement rate:
2026 PIA Formula
- 90% of the first $1,286 of AIME
- 32% of AIME over $1,286 up to $7,749
- 15% of AIME over $7,749
These bendpoints are adjusted annually for wage inflation, ensuring they maintain their purchasing power over time. The percentages (90%, 32%, 15%) have remained constant since 1979.
Example Calculation
Let's walk through an example with an AIME of $5,000:
| First bracket: 90% of $1,286 | = $1,157.40 |
| Second bracket: 32% of ($5,000 - $1,286) | = 32% of $3,714 = $1,188.48 |
| Third bracket: 15% of ($5,000 - $7,749) | = $0 (AIME doesn't reach third bracket) |
| Total PIA: | $2,345.88 |
The final step is rounding: Social Security rounds the PIA down to the nearest dime, so this would become $2,345.80 per month.
AIME to PIA Conversion Table
Here's how different AIME levels translate to monthly PIA amounts using 2026 bend points ($1,286 and $7,749):
| AIME | Estimated PIA | Replacement Rate |
|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $900 | 90% |
| $2,000 | $1,386 | 69% |
| $3,000 | $1,706 | 57% |
| $4,000 | $2,026 | 51% |
| $5,000 | $2,346 | 47% |
| $6,000 | $2,666 | 44% |
| $7,749 | $3,226 | 42% |
| $8,000 | $3,263 | 41% |
| $10,000 | $3,563 | 36% |
| $12,500 | $3,938 | 32% |
Interactive Bendpoint Chart
This chart visualizes how the PIA formula works. The green marker shows a sample earner's position on the curve. Move your mouse over the chart to explore how different AIME values translate to different PIA amounts. Notice how the slope changes at each bendpoint—steeper at the left (90%), then flatter (32%), and flattest at the right (15%).
Progressive Nature of the Formula
The bendpoint formula is intentionally progressive, meaning it provides higher replacement rates for lower earners:
- Lower earners receive up to 90% replacement of their AIME
- Middle earners receive a blend of 90% and 32% rates
- Higher earners receive a blend of all three rates, with their highest earnings replaced at only 15%
This design ensures Social Security provides a stronger safety net for workers with lower lifetime earnings while still providing meaningful benefits to higher earners.
Implications of Higher Late-Career Earnings
Understanding the bendpoint formula helps explain why earning more money late in your career has diminishing returns for your Social Security benefits:
Marginal Return on Additional Earnings
If you're already earning above the second bendpoint ($7,749 AIME in 2026), any additional earnings that increase your AIME will only increase your PIA by 15 cents for every additional dollar of monthly AIME.
Example: Late-Career Bonus Impact
Suppose you're 64 and considering whether to accept a high-paying position for your final working year. If this job would increase your AIME by $500 (from $6,000 to $6,500), your PIA would increase by:
$500 × 32% = $160 per month
However, if your AIME was already $8,000 and increased to $8,500, your PIA would only increase by:
$500 × 15% = $75 per month
Why This Matters for Career Planning
The progressive formula means that:
- Early career earnings may have the highest impact on your PIA if they help you reach 35 years of substantial earnings
- Mid-career earnings often provide good returns, especially if they push you into the 32% bracket
- Late-career earnings provide the lowest marginal returns, especially if you're already above the second bendpoint
This doesn't mean late-career earnings are worthless. They still increase your benefits and your overall retirement income. But the Social Security benefit increase may be smaller than you might intuitively expect.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA)
Once you reach age 62, your PIA is protected against inflation through annual Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA). These adjustments:
- Are applied every December based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W)
- Continue even after you start collecting benefits
- Apply to your PIA, which then affects all benefits based on your record
PIA and Other Benefits
Your PIA serves as the foundation for calculating:
- Retirement benefits: Your PIA adjusted for filing age
- Spousal benefits: Up to 50% of your PIA (not 50% of your actual benefit if you delay past FRA)
- Survivor benefits: Up to 100% of your PIA
- Disability benefits: Your PIA without age adjustments
Maximizing Your PIA
First, ensure you have enough work credits to qualify—you need 40 credits (about 10 years of work). Then focus on maximizing your PIA:
- Work for 35 years: PIA is based on your highest 35 years, so each year of work can potentially replace a zero-earning year
- Maximize early and mid-career earnings: These often provide the best return due to the progressive formula
- Be aware of the earnings cap: Earnings above the annual cap don't count toward Social Security
- Consider the maximum benefit: Understand what it takes to reach the highest possible PIA
Calculate Your PIA
Rather than calculating your PIA by hand, you can use the SSA.tools Social Security calculator to determine your exact Primary Insurance Amount. Simply paste your earnings record from ssa.gov, and the calculator will compute your PIA automatically using the current year's bendpoints and your complete earnings history.
The calculator also shows you how different future earning scenarios and filing dates affect your actual monthly benefits, which are based on your PIA.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good PIA?
A "good" PIA depends on your income needs and lifestyle expectations. A PIA above $2,500 puts you in the upper tier of beneficiaries, while the maximum PIA requires earning at or above the taxable maximum for 35 years. Most financial planners suggest Social Security should replace about 40% of pre-retirement income for average earners.
How is PIA different from my actual benefit?
Your PIA is your benefit amount only if you claim at your Full Retirement Age. If you claim early (as young as 62), your benefit is permanently reduced—up to 30% less than your PIA. If you delay past FRA (up to age 70), you earn delayed retirement credits that increase your benefit by 8% per year, potentially receiving up to 124-132% of your PIA.
Does my PIA change after I start receiving benefits?
Yes, but only through Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLA). Once you turn 62, your PIA is locked in and protected against inflation through annual COLA increases. However, if you continue working while receiving benefits, additional high-earning years could potentially increase your AIME and thus your PIA.
What if I don't have 35 years of work history?
Social Security uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate your AIME. If you have fewer than 35 years, zeros are averaged in for the missing years, which significantly lowers your AIME and PIA. Each additional year of work replaces a zero, boosting your benefit.
Related Guides
- AIME Guide — How your earnings are indexed and averaged to calculate your AIME
- Spousal Benefits — How filing dates affect spousal benefits based on your PIA
- Work Credits — The 40 credits you need to qualify for benefits before your PIA matters
- Maximum Benefit — What it takes to reach the highest possible PIA
- Filing Date Chart Guide — How to read the interactive chart showing benefits at different filing ages