2026 Social Security Bend Points: $1,286 (Official)
A published yearly amount and the rule that uses it.
Official
First PIA bend point
$1,286
Three portions of AIME.
PIA uses 90% of the first $1,286, 32% from that point to $7,749, and 15% of the amount above the second point. Use the bend points for the year a worker first becomes eligible, not any later claiming year.
Compare claiming ages| Year | Primary amount | Second bend point | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,174 | $7,078 | Official |
| 2025 | $1,226 | $7,391 | Official |
| 2026 | $1,286 | $7,749 | Official |
| 2027 | $1,348 | $8,124 | Projected |
| 2028 | $1,413 | $8,517 | Projected |
Questions, answered.
Is the 2026 amount announced?
Yes. The linked SSA publication is the authority for the amount.
Does investment income count toward the earnings test?
The retirement earnings test generally uses wages and net self-employment earnings, not pensions or investment income. Taxation of Social Security is a separate calculation.
Is the wage base my retirement benefit?
No. It is the earnings ceiling for the Social Security payroll-tax portion. PIA uses indexed earnings and bend points; claiming age then changes the payment.
Does the COLA set all these limits?
No. Wage-base, earnings-test and bend-point changes use wage-indexing rules. COLA uses CPI-W. Future projections must keep those assumptions separate.
Check the sources.
Data checked October 1, 2026. Announced October 24, 2025.