This Is the Average Social Security Benefit for a 66 Year Old

Apparently, only about 10% of pre-retirees in America are planning to wait until they turn 70 to claim their Social Security benefits, per the 2023 Schroders U.S. Retirement Survey. You might think that's not a big deal, but according to a 2019 report from the folks at United Income, 57% of the retirees it studied would have gotten the most lifetime benefits out of Social Security had they waited until 70 to begin taking them.

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When you claim your benefits makes a big difference -- enlarging or shrinking your benefit checks. The table below shows how much of your full benefits you'll receive depending on when you claim them and your full retirement age.

Source: Social Security Administration.

For further context, let's put some dollar amounts into the picture.

• The average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was $1,924 as of October, or $23,088 annually.
• As of the end of 2023, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for 66-year-olds was $1,740, or $20,880 for the year.
• The average monthly benefit for 62-year-old recipients was $1,380, or $16,560 for the year. 62 is the earliest age at which you can claim your retirement benefit.
• The average monthly benefit for 70-year-old recipients was $2,022, or $24,264 for the year. There's no value in waiting to claim beyond 70, as no additional delayed retirement credits will accrue.

You can get a much clearer idea of how much you can expect by setting up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administration (SSA) website. That will let you see the latest estimates of your future benefits, and how they would vary depending on when you choose to start collecting them.