Americans who qualify can start collecting Social Security as soon as they turn 62 or as late as 70, but what the government views as your "full retirement age" will fall between 66 and 67, depending on the year you were born. And the reality is that many Americans choose to claim Social Security before they reach full retirement age.
One of the most popular ages at which to start collecting Social Security is 65, and this certainly makes sense. After all, it's the age at which you become eligible for Medicare, so it's the earliest that many workers can retire and not have to worry about obtaining health insurance.
With that in mind, there are about 1.4 million 65-year-olds who receive Social Security benefits for retired workers. Here's a rundown of their average benefit, as well as other types of Social Security benefits and the average retired worker's benefit for other ages.
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The average Social Security benefit for age 65
According to the 2023 Social Security Annual Statistical Supplement, the average 65-year-old retired worker who collected Social Security received a $1,505 monthly benefit as of December 2022.
To be sure, there have been significant cost-of-living adjustments since that time. While we won't have access to newer data for some time (the annual statistical supplement is published in November), we do know that beneficiaries received an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment for 2023, which would have translated to an average benefit of about $1,636 per month for the average 65-year-old beneficiary at the end of 2023.
Plus, beneficiaries starting this month are getting an additional 3.2% raise for 2024, which should bump the average 65-year-old up to a monthly benefit of approximately $1,688.
Other types of Social Security benefits at 65
There's more to the Social Security program than its primary benefits for retired workers. Here's what other types of beneficiaries collect, on average, at 65. (All figures are as of December 2022.)
- The average disabled worker receives a benefit of $1,653 per month at 65. Once a disabled worker reaches their full retirement age, their benefit becomes a standard retired worker's benefit.
- The average spousal benefit at 65 is $662 per month. Spousal benefits are designed to provide retirement income to spouses who either didn't work or earned low wages compared to their spouses throughout their working lives.
- Minor children of retired workers also qualify for benefits. Obviously, nobody in this category is 65, but the average benefit paid to a child is $786 per month.
The average Social Security benefit by age
Here's a more thorough breakdown of the average Social Security benefit by age for retired workers. I've also broken out the data by gender. Keep in mind that these are the averages based on the current ages of beneficiaries -- not the ages at which they started collecting benefits.
|
Age of Beneficiary |
Average Monthly Benefit |
Average Monthly Benefit (Men) |
Average Monthly Benefit (Women) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
62 |
$1,275 |
$1,421 |
$1,141 |
|
63 |
$1,365 |
$1,517 |
$1,225 |
|
64 |
$1,412 |
$1,566 |
$1,270 |
|
65 |
$1,504 |
$1,671 |
$1,356 |
|
66 |
$1,720 |
$1,917 |
$1,531 |
|
67 |
$1,844 |
$2,055 |
$1,638 |
|
68 |
$1,848 |
$2,054 |
$1,644 |
|
69 |
$1,819 |
$2,019 |
$1,614 |
|
70 |
$1,963 |
$2,180 |
$1,744 |
|
70-74 |
$1,938 |
$2,149 |
$1,727 |
|
75-79 |
$1,892 |
$2,096 |
$1,690 |
|
80-84 |
$1,843 |
$2,034 |
$1,662 |
|
85-89 |
$1,713 |
$1,835 |
$1,607 |
Data source: Social Security Administration.
Key takeaways
There are a couple of big takeaways from the data. First, you'll notice that the average woman's retired worker benefit is significantly smaller than the average man's at any age. There are a couple of reasons.
First, the gender wage gap is still a very prevalent factor. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average woman in full-time employment is paid about 84% of what the average man gets paid. To be sure, the numbers are trending in the right direction -- women earned 81% of what men did just two years ago -- but there's clearly still a lot of work to be done. Second, women are statistically more likely to take significant periods of unpaid leave or to work part time after having children. Since your Social Security benefit is based on your income in your 35 highest-earning years, these things can have a significant impact.
Another important thing to notice is the differences in benefits by age, especially from 65 to 67. The average 67-year-old gets nearly 23% more from Social Security than the average 65-year-old. Now, every situation is different, and these are just averages, but the point is that waiting an additional year or two (or even a few months) to file for benefits can have a big impact on this inflation-protected retirement income source.
