No retirement plan is complete without factoring in the income from Social Security benefits.
How important Social Security is to a retirement plan varies from person to person—for some, it’s the difference between a stable retirement and financial hardship, while for others it’s just a nice bonus to have. But in most circumstances, your monthly Social Security check is still an important number to know as you craft your retirement budget.
The problem? You can’t just ask a parent or grandparent how big their Social Security check is then assume yours will be the same. That’s because the average monthly benefits for retirees vary somewhat by age.
Today, I’ll show you what the average monthly Social Security benefit looks like for people of different ages. I’ll also explain the factors that affect how much Social Security a person receives, how you can estimate your personal number, how spousal benefits tie in, and more.
Disclaimer: This article does not constitute individualized financial advice. The information appears for your consideration, not as a personalized recommendation. Act at your own discretion.
Who Can Collect Social Security?
Let’s start with a brief review of who is eligible to receive Social Security benefits—specifically as it pertains to “Old Age” (retirement) Social Security, as opposed to Survivor or Disability benefits.
Workers are taxed on their earnings. In return, they earn Social Security “credits.” You can earn up to four credits each year, and the amount of money needed to earn a credit generally goes up each year. You generally need 40 credits to become eligible for retirement Social Security, meaning you need at least 10 years of working and paying taxes on your earnings to qualify.
You also must be at least 62 years old, and be a U.S. citizen or lawfully present noncitizen, to receive Social Security benefits.
Those who aren’t eligible through their own work history, but are married or divorced, may still qualify for Social Security spousal benefits, which we’ll get to later.
Retirees’ Average Social Security Income By Age
The average monthly benefit for all retirees was $2,008.31 as of August 2025.
But that number varies somewhat based on age.
According to the Social Security Administration data from December 2024, the average monthly benefit by age for retirees who were at full retirement age (FRA), is as follows:
| Average Social Security Benefits by Age | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT | AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT | AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT |
| 70 | $2,176.76 | 75 | $2,174.20 | ||
| 66 | $2,127.06 | 71 | $2,144.80 | 76 | $2,220.87 |
| 67 | $2,162.83 | 72 | $2,167.60 | 77 | $2,229.68 |
| 68 | $2,161.25 | 73 | $2,160.60 | 78 | $2,273.37 |
| 69 | $2,190.48 | 74 | $2,146.62 | 79 | $2,235.38 |
| 66-69 | $2,167.32 | 70-74 | $2,160.23 | 75-79 | $2,223.77 |
| AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT | AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT | AGE/AGE RANGE | AVG. MONTHLY BENEFIT |
| 80 | $2,250.80 | 85 | $2,202.04 | 90+ | $1,663.04 |
| 81 | $2,271.68 | 86 | $2,174.65 | ||
| 82 | $2,289.33 | 87 | $2,125.80 | ||
| 83 | $2,281.81 | 88 | $2,065.99 | ||
| 84 | $2,257.17 | 89 | $2,039.15 | ||
| 80-84 | $2,269.56 | 85-89 | $2,130.41 | ||
| Data is as of year-end 2024. Source: Social Security Administration | |||||
As you can see, there’s a little variance, and it doesn’t necessarily follow any strict rules or patterns (for instance, payments aren’t necessarily higher the older you are).
Keep in mind that the more you earn, the more you’re eligible to receive. That means states with higher wages generally have higher average benefits.
Do you want to get serious about saving and planning for retirement? Sign up for Retire With Riley, Young and the Invested’s free retirement planning newsletter.
Factors That Affect How Much Social Security You’ll Receive
The two main influences on the size of your Social Security benefit are:
- The age at which you begin collecting checks
- The average earnings of your 35 highest-earning working years.
Let’s look more closely at both of these factors.
Make Young and the Invested your preferred news source on Google
Simply go to your preferences page and select the ✓ box for Young and the Invested. Once you’ve made this update, you’ll see Young and the Invested show up more often in Google’s “Top Stories” feed, as well as in a dedicated “From Your Sources” section on Google’s search results page.
The Age You Start Collecting Your Benefit
All retirees and soon-to-be retirees need to decide when they’ll start taking Social Security. The youngest age a person can start collecting retirement Social Security is age 62. However, if you start collecting at that age, your benefit is permanently reduced. For some people, such as those with health conditions that significantly lower their expected lifespan, it may make sense to start collecting their benefits as early as possible.
However, if you want 100% of your expected Social Security benefits, you need to wait until your full retirement age (FRA), which is also referred to as your normal retirement age. Your FRA depends on your birth year and the current brackets are as follows:
- Born between 1943 to 1954: 66
- Born in 1955: 66 and 2 months
- Born in 1956: 66 and 4 months
- Born in 1957: 66 and 6 months
- Born in 1958: 66 and 8 months
- Born in 1959: 66 and 10 months
- Born in 1960 or later: 67
If you wait longer, it’s possible to get an even higher benefit. One’s retirement benefits are increased by a set percentage for every month they delay their benefits past their FRA. The increases are also referred to as delayed retirement benefits. This doesn’t go on indefinitely, though. The benefit increases max out once a person reaches age 70.
This leads to the obvious questions of whether you should wait until age 70 to claim Social Security.
In short: It depends. The increased benefit amount is clearly an advantage. But if you’re delaying Social Security while withdrawing from retirement accounts early, or taking out expensive loans, that’s likely not the best financial move. The best collection age depends on your life expectancy, financial situation, and whether you plan to collect Social Security spousal benefits.
Related: Don’t Believe These 17 Social Security Myths
Average Earnings of Your 35 Highest-Earning Working Years
High earners receive a greater Social Security benefit than low earners. To calculate your benefit amount, the Social Security Administration (SSA) uses the average earnings of your 35 highest-earning years of employment.
What if you worked fewer than 35 years? The SSA will still use 35 to find the average, which puts you at a disadvantage. Let’s say you worked only 33 years. In the SSA’s calculation, your earnings for each of the two remaining years would be zero, and that could substantially bring down your average. So if you’ve worked for fewer than 35 years and have the capacity to keep working—even if it’s just in a part-time capacity—doing so could bring up your average and thus your eventual benefit for the rest of your life.
This calculation method may partially explain why, besides the gender pay gap, women have lower Social Security benefits on average. Women between the ages of 66 to 69 have an average benefit amount of $1,922.15. Comparatively, men the same age have an average benefit of $2,397.62. The average benefit for women between the ages of 70 to 74 is $1,919.59, while for men it’s $2,369.20.
Some women may have fewer than 35 working years because they took time off to care for children or older family members.
Related: 9 States That Tax Social Security Benefits
How Can I Estimate My Future Benefit Amount?
Good news: If you want to estimate your Social Security benefit, you don’t need to break out your W-2 forms. If you create a free Social Security Administration account, the SSA can show you your estimated monthly retirement check.
The SSA’s site will display approximately how much you could receive if you retire early, start collecting at FRA, or delay payments for a higher benefit.
If you’re not sure how to proceed, we have a step-by-step guide outlining how to view your Social Security benefit estimates.
Related: How Are Social Security Benefits Taxed?
What About Social Security Spousal Benefits?
Are you not eligible for Social Security, or would you only receive a very small benefit based on your work history? Well, if you’re married and your spouse qualifies for a substantially higher benefit than you, it might make sense to collect Social Security spousal benefits rather than your own benefit.
To qualify for spousal benefits, your spouse must receive Social Security and you must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- Be at least 62 years old.
- Have a child under the age of 16 years old who is in your care or have a kid with a disability who is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s account.
If you’re eligible and start collecting at your FRA, the maximum amount you could receive is 50% of the amount your spouse is eligible to receive when they reach their FRA. If you started collecting early, your benefit would be reduced to as little as 32.5% (if you collected at age 62) unless you care for a child under age 16 or one with a disability who is entitled to benefits on your spouse’s record.
Delaying your benefit past your FRA won’t increase your spousal benefit. And collecting spousal benefits doesn’t lower your spouse’s benefits.
Note: In some circumstances, ex-spouses qualify, too. A divorced spouse must have been married for at least 10 years, and have been divorced for at least two years.
