Social Security is arguably the most important social program in the U.S., providing benefits to tens of millions of retirees who use the income to supplement their savings or as a primary source of income in retirement.
However, the program is complex and has many wonky rules. While retirees don't need to learn all of them, they should try and understand what their benefits could look like when they retire, to plan better and ensure they have enough income to cover their expenses once they're done working. Here's the average Social Security benefit at age 67.
Getting the full benefits one is entitled to
Before discussing the average Social Security benefit at age 67, future and current retirees should understand how the Social Security program works and why claiming benefits at different ages affects the amount one will receive in retirement.
Retirees can begin claiming Social Security as early as age 62 and as late as age 70. There are trade-offs, of course. The earlier one claims benefits, the lower their monthly benefits will be, while the later one claims benefits, the higher their benefits will be. The Social Security Administration (SSA) attempts to provide every retiree with an equal level of benefits throughout their lifetime.
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The benchmark age for those born in 1960 or later is 67, also known as the full retirement age (FRA). The FRA is the age at which one can receive the full amount of benefits they're entitled to based on the SSA's benefits formula, which is based on how many years one worked through their career, how much they earned -- and therefore paid in Social Security taxes -- and at what age they retire.
Each month that a retiree claims benefits in advance of their FRA results in benefits being reduced by a small percentage. If a retiree claims benefits as early as 62, they can see their retirement benefits lowered by as much as 30%.Conversely, for every month that a retiree puts off claiming benefits past their FRA, their benefits will increase by a certain percentage. Delaying as long as possible and claiming benefits at age 70 will result in Social Security benefits being increased by 24%.
The average Social Security benefit for age 67
Given that most people's FRA is now 67, it's a good idea for retirees to understand how much the average check at that age is. This will enable them to make rough calculations for how much their benefits would be lowered or increased based on the age at which they plan to claim Social Security.
According to the SSA's 2025 annual statistical supplement, the average monthly benefit for all retired workers age 67 who were unaffected by an early retirement reduction or delayed retirement credit was nearly $2,163, or $25,956 annually, as of December 2024. The average monthly benefit for men aged 67 was higher at $2,393, while the average benefit for women was lower at approximately $1,915.
Now, since this data is from December 2024, we can apply the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025 and 2026 to estimate the likely average in the present. The COLA last year was 2.5%, meaning the average monthly benefit at age 67 would have been approximately $2,217 in 2025. The COLA for this year is 2.8%, which would increase the average monthly benefit to $2,279, or $27,349 a year.
Remember, this is just an average, and a retiree's individual COLA is based largely on earnings during their working years. Additionally, while people can plan for the age at which they think they want to retire, unexpected events are likely to arise that one could never have predicted. Ultimately, when retirees claim Social Security should depend on their financial situation and health.
Those who may not have as much in savings come retirement as they hoped, or who are dealing with significant health issues, will likely elect to claim Social Security early. Those who do have savings and are reasonably healthy can choose to wait until their FRA or even later.
