Social Security plays a key role in a majority of Americans' retirement plans, and many factors will influence how much you receive each month in benefits.
As of 2024, the maximum benefit is a whopping $4,873 per month. The average benefit is far less than that, however, and it may come as a surprise to many people how little most retirees receive from Social Security.
As you make your plans for retirement, it can be helpful to see how much the average retiree receives in benefits. But it's also important to understand just how much your age when you file impacts your monthly payments.
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The average Social Security benefit by age
The age at which you begin taking Social Security benefits is one of the most important factors influencing the size of your checks. To receive the full benefit you're entitled to based on your work history, you'll need to wait until what the government designates as your full retirement age (FRA) to file.
That age will depend on the year you were born, but for anyone born in 1960 or later, it's 67 years old. For each month that you file before your FRA, the size of your checks will be reduced by a fraction of a percent -- and those fractions can add up. If you file at the earliest possible point -- when you turn 62 -- your monthly checks will be 30% smaller than the full retirement benefit you'd otherwise have been entitled to. You can also delay taking benefits past your FRA, which will earn you delayed retirement credits of 2/3 of 1% for each extra month you wait -- or 8% per year. Postponing until you turn 70 -- after which you can't accrue any more credits -- will boost your checks by 24% per month.
The average monthly benefits among retirees varies widely based on age. Here's what those averages looked like in December 2022 -- the most recent data the Social Security Administration has published on the topic:
| Age of Retiree | Average Monthly Benefit Amount |
|---|---|
| 62 | $1,275 |
| 63 | $1,365 |
| 64 | $1,412 |
| 65 | $1,505 |
| 66 | $1,720 |
| 67 | $1,845 |
| 68 | $1,848 |
| 69 | $1,819 |
| 70 | $1,963 |
Source: Social Security Administration. Table by author.
At 70, the average benefit is nearly $700 per month higher than the average benefit at 62. It pays, then, to choose carefully when deciding when you want to file for benefits.
Why this poses a problem for future retirees
Social Security was never designed to be the primary source of people's retirement income, yet for most retirees, that's exactly what it is.
Nearly 60% of current retirees depend on their benefits as a major income source, a 2023 poll from Gallup revealed. In addition, according to a 2023 survey by the Nationwide Retirement Institute, around 1 in 5 respondents 50 and older said they expect to have no other sources of retirement income beyond Social Security.
Considering the average retiree across all ages receives less than $2,000 per month from Social Security, relying on your benefits as a primary or sole source of income could prove difficult. While it's not impossible to live on Social Security alone, it likely won't make for a comfortable retirement.
What you can do to prepare
Ideally, it's best to ensure you have built a healthy retirement fund that you can draw upon. If you still have some time to save before you retire, now is a perfect time to amp up your investments. Even if you can't afford to set aside much in your portfolio, every dollar counts.
Simply saving more is often easier said than done, though. If you're already stretched thin financially, another option is to delay claiming Social Security by a few years. Waiting until you hit 70 to file for benefits will maximize your checks. If your finances are going to be tight in retirement, those larger payments can go a long way.
Working a little longer or increasing your income can also boost your benefits. The Social Security Administration calculates your full retirement benefit by taking an average of your inflation-adjusted wages over the 35 highest-earning years of your career, then running that average through a complex formula. The result is the amount you'll receive at your FRA.
If you've worked for fewer than 35 years, that calculation will factor in some years with zero income, which can really drag your average down.
However, if you're earning more at the end of your career (on an inflation-adjusted basis) than you were when you were younger, working longer means you can replace a few low-earning years with higher-earning ones in the calculation, boosting your average and earning you an even larger benefit. Combine that with the credits you earn by delaying the day you start taking benefits, and it should have an even bigger effect on your monthly payments.
Social Security can go a long way in retirement, but it's important to have realistic expectations about how much you're likely to get from the program. By understanding how your benefits are calculated and going into retirement with a strategy to maximize your checks, you can ensure you're as prepared as possible.
