Some ages seem more significant than others, and age 65 is one of those ages. It's the age at which we can qualify for Medicare. And when the Social Security program debuted, it was the original full retirement age. Now, it's between 66 and 67, depending on your birth year.
We can start collecting our benefits at age 62, though. That makes them smaller, but we'll receive many more payments. We can also choose to delay up to age 70, making our benefits bigger. (Clearly, when to start collecting Social Security is a big decision. One study found that 57% of us would do best waiting until age 70, if possible.)
Image source: Getty Images.
You might wonder what the average Social Security benefit is for a 65-year-old -- or for other ages. Here are some average monthly benefits, as of the end of last year:
|
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 |
|
72 |
$2,117 |
$2,343 |
$1,894 |
|
75 |
$2,065 |
$2,278 |
$1,857 |
|
80 |
$2,006 |
$2,206 |
$1,816 |
|
85 |
$1,944 |
$2,120 |
$1,788 |
Source: Social Security Administration.
Those are not hefty sums. The average monthly retirement benefit, as of January, was recently $1,979 -- roughly $23,750 annually. Here are some silver linings, though: For starters, Social Security benefits get increased most years via cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). The most recent increase was 2.5%, though they can get much bigger, depending on inflation.
Meanwhile, for those of us who have not yet retired, there are ways to increase one's Social Security benefit checks -- such as by delaying starting to collect them, or earning more to boost your payout.
It's smart to set up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administration (SSA) website. There, you'll be able to see estimates of how much you can expect from Social Security.
