As you likely know, there's no one-size-fits-all Social Security benefit. The amount you'll receive will depend on factors such as how much you earned in your working life and the age at which you claimed your benefits. Once you start receiving your benefits, they won't stay fixed, either -- they'll get increased in most years via cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs).
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Given all that, here's a look at the average monthly benefits for recipients of various ages.
|
Age |
Average benefit, all |
Average benefit, men |
Average benefit, women |
|---|---|---|---|
|
62 |
$1,342 |
$1,486 |
$1,207 |
|
65 |
$1,611 |
$1,785 |
$1,453 |
|
67 |
$1,930 |
$2,143 |
$1,719 |
|
70 |
$2,148 |
$2,390 |
$1,909 |
|
75 |
$2,065 |
$2,278 |
$1,857 |
|
80 |
$2,006 |
$2,206 |
$1,816 |
|
85 |
$1,944 |
$2,120 |
$1,788 |
Data source: Social Security Administration.
Here are some more things to know:
- You can start collecting your benefits as early as age 62, or you can delay until age 70. The earlier you claim, the smaller your monthly benefits will be, and vice versa.
- Delaying beyond your "full retirement age" (66 or 67, depending on when you were born) will beef up your benefit checks by about 8% for each year until age 70. So some of the larger numbers above are due to people delaying collecting their benefits.
- The decision regarding when to claim your benefits is important. One study found that for 57% of people, waiting until age 70 is best to maximize benefits.
- Women tend to receive smaller benefits because they're often paid less than men in their jobs. (The Institute for Women's Policy Research found women being paid an average of $0.84 for every $1.00 a man makes, as of last year.)
- Many women are also out of the workforce for some years, caring for children and/or parents. Since Social Security benefits are based on your earnings in the 35 years in which you earned the most, those who don't have earnings for 35 years end up with some zeros being factored into the formula, shrinking their benefits.
