20 C.F.R. §§ 404.231–404.233

First, we compute your average monthly wage, as described in § 404.232;

Second, we find the primary insurance amount that corresponds to your average monthly wage in the benefit table in appendix III.

Then we apply any automatic cost-of-living or ad hoc increases in primary insurance amounts that have become effective in or after the year you reached age 62.

General. With the exception described in paragraph (b) of this section, we follow the rules in § 404.221 to compute your average monthly wage.

Exception. We do not use any year after the year you reach age 61 as a computation base year in computing your average monthly wage for purposes of the guaranteed alternative.

If you do not become entitled to benefits at the time you reach age 62, we adjust the guaranteed alternative computed for you under § 404.232 as described in paragraph (b) of this section.

To the primary insurance amount computed under the guaranteed alternative, we apply any automatic cost-of-living or ad hoc increases in primary insurance amounts that go into effect in the year you reach age 62 and in years up through the year you become entitled to benefits. (See appendix VI for a list of the percentage increases in primary insurance amounts since December 1978.)