The average retired worker in the United States receives $1,915 per month from Social Security, but there's a wide variety of age groups included in this data. It includes 62-year-olds who decided to claim Social Security early. It includes 90-year-old retirees who have been receiving monthly checks for decades. And much more.
The full retirement age for Social Security is 67 years old for most American workers, so what does the average Social Security recipient get at this age? Here's a rundown of the average Social Security benefit at age 67, and what you might be able to do to get significantly more than the average.
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The average Social Security benefit at age 67
Without further delay, the average Social Security benefit at age 67 is approximately $2,069 per month for 2024. This comes from the 2023 Social Security Annual Statistical Supplement (we won't see 2024's until November), which uses December 2022 data.
Specifically, the report shows that the average 67-year-old retired worker collected a monthly benefit of $1,844 per month in late 2022. There have been two cost-of-living adjustments since then -- 8.7% in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024. So, while we won't have exact 2024 data broken down by age for some time, this should be a pretty accurate estimate.
On an annual basis, this means that the average 67-year-old retired worker gets $24,828 in inflation-protected retirement income.
Why 67?
The significance of age 67 is that it's considered to be full Social Security retirement age for most Americans. If you were born in 1960 or later, you'll need to wait until age 67 to start collecting your benefits, or they'll be permanently reduced.
|
Birth Year |
Full Social Security Retirement Age |
|---|---|
|
1960 |
67 |
|
1959 |
66 years, 10 months |
|
1958 |
66 years, 8 months |
|
1957 |
66 years, 6 months |
|
1956 |
66 years, 4 months |
|
1955 |
66 years, 2 months |
|
1954 or earlier |
66 years |
Data source: Social Security Administration (SSA).
Americans who qualify for benefits can choose to start receiving them as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. But they can be reduced by as much as 30% if you start collecting Social Security as early as possible. In fact, the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker who is 62 years old was $1,275 as of the 2022 data. Based on the recent COLAs, this translates to a benefit of $1,430 per month in 2024.
A few caveats to keep in mind
As mentioned, the average mentioned earlier is for all Social Security beneficiaries that received retired worker benefits and were 67 years old at the time of the report. But like any data set, it isn't perfect. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind.
- First, this data includes everyone who was 67 years old and was collecting a retired worker's Social Security benefit. This means that it includes people who waited until 67 to start collecting their benefit, but also includes millions of people who decided to start Social Security early. The average retired worker who starts collecting Social Security at age 67 likely gets significantly more than $2,069 per month.
- Second, the averages discussed here are for retired workers -- that is, people who receive a Social Security benefit on their own work record. It does not consider spousal benefits or survivors benefits.
How to get more than the average Social Security benefit
When it comes to Social Security, there are two main ways to increase your benefit: Earn more money while you're working or wait longer to start collecting.
On the first point, Social Security considers your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation, when calculating your monthly benefit. If you haven't worked for 35 years yet, or if you have some low-earning years on your record, staying in the workforce or growing your income (even through a side hustle) could significantly boost your average.
On the second point, 62 years old is the earliest age at which you can claim Social Security, but if your full retirement age is 67, doing so will result in your benefit being permanently reduced by 30%. On the other hand, waiting beyond full retirement age will result in an 8% increase per year, until as late as age 70. So, waiting a little longer, even a few months longer than planned, to apply for Social Security can have a significant impact. And if you can wait until you turn 70, your retirement benefit will be 24% higher than it otherwise would be.
