If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age (FRA) – the time at which a person can claim unreduced Social Security benefits – is 67. Retire earlier than that and you will be penalized; wait until age 70 and enjoy higher benefits of roughly 8% for each year you delay past FRA.
Currently, the average benefit for people age 67 is $2,016 per month, according to an analysis by financial website MotleyFool.com. There’s a disparity between men’s and women’s benefits, however, with the average for men being $2,234 compared to $1,801 for women.
That doesn’t mean people are waiting until FRA to claim benefits, however. Investopedia reports more than two-thirds of the 3.25 million new claimants in 2024 filed before age 66, a move that results in a permanent cut to benefits.
Those who claimed benefits at age 67 in 2024 received almost $1,200 more per month than those who claimed at age 63. The average monthly first-time benefit for someone age 70 or older is $777 more, the study showed.
Monthly benefit average
Here are the monthly averages based on retirees’ age:
- 62 – $1,424
- 63 – $1435,81
- 64 – $1,478
- 65 – $1,607.27
- 66 – $1,807.28
- 67 – $2,016.48
- 68 – $2,052.64
- 69 – $2,096.95
- 70 – $2,274.68
- 71 – $2,247.76
- 72 – $2,205.21
- 73 – $2,207.96
- 74 – $2,178.87
- 75 – $2,144.88
- 76 – $2,157.21
- 77 – $2,170.80
- 78 – $2,140.16
- 79 – $2,155.77
- 80 – $2,106.29
- 81 – $2,099.82
- 82 – $2,098.76
- 83 – $2,102.12
- 84 – $2,101.26
- 85 – $2,077.11
- 86 – $2,036.62
- 87 – $2,015.54
- 88 – $1,983.29
- 89 – $1,925.36
- 90 – $1,898.34
- 91 – $1,894.74
- 92 – $1,899.20
- 93 – $1,920.13
- 94 – $1,907.78
- 95 – $1,890.03
- 96 – $1,889.08
- 97 – $1,891.21
- 98 – $1,887.57
- 99-plus – $1,845