What Is the Average Social Security Check by Age?

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last updated 26 June 2025

Getting a handle on the average Social Security check by age can help you fine-tune your retirement plans. As of May 2025, about 55.5 million retired workers and family members received monthly benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA), totaling $108.3 billion.

How much do they receive? As of May 2025, the average Social Security monthly check for retired workers was $2,002.39, an increase of $2.42 over April's average amount of $1,999.97, according to the SSA's Monthly Statistical Snapshot. This is the first time the average monthly benefit was over $2,000.

Your personal monthly Social Security benefit depends on how much you’ve earned, how long you worked, the age at which you claim(ed) your benefit, and your marital status.

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The complexity of benefits calculations means it can be challenging to determine what your exact Social Security payments might be if you haven't started taking them. Still, it's possible to produce a reasonable estimate.

Check the Social Security payment schedule for 2025 to find out when your benefits will be arriving throughout the year.

One way to get an idea of how much your monthly benefits will be if you retire at ages 62, 66/67, and 70 is to look at the average monthly Social Security check in 2024.

Why does the average benefit received at these ages matter? Age 62 is the age at which you can claim a reduced benefit, ages 66/67 is the full retirement age (depending on birth year), and 70 is the age at which you can receive the maximum amount if you delay claiming benefits.

We can also compare how much retired SSA beneficiaries' checks are by age and whether they began taking benefits at their full retirement age or received more by collecting a delayed retirement credit using data from the SSA Annual Statistical Supplement, 2025.

Maximum benefit if you retire in 2025 by age

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By comparing the maximum benefit by age, it's easy to quantify the bump in benefits you receive when you delay collecting benefits until age 70. The difference in 2025 between the maximum benefit for someone who retires early at 62 vs waiting until 70 is $2,187. (On the table below, that's $5,018 at age 70, less $2,831 at age 62, or a change of $2,187).

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Age	Maximum possible benefit in 2025	Adjustments to benefit
62 — the youngest possible retirement age	$2,831	early retirement reduction
66/67 — full retirement age	$4,018	No early retirement reduction or delayed retirement credit
70 — the age when extra benefits stop accruing	$5,108	delayed retirement credit

Here are the average monthly benefit amounts broken out by age and gender. The second table also shows the average monthly benefits amount broken out by age and gender, but includes benefit amounts from delayed retirement credits and a hypothetical amount reflecting the absence of the credit.

If you wait until you reach full retirement age to claim Social Security benefits, you’ll receive 100% of your earned benefits. By waiting to claim your Social Security benefits until age 70, your monthly Social Security benefit will grow by 8% a year until you're 70. The delayed retirement credit accumulates monthly.

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Average monthly benefits by age for retired-worker beneficiaries, w/o early retirement deductions or delayed retirement credits
Age	Average monthly benefit amount for all retirees	Average monthly benefit for men	Average monthly benefit for women
All retirees	$2,178.71	$2,400.95	$1,924.13
66	$2,127.06	$2,365.32	$1,874.97
67	$2,162.83	$2,393.41	$1,914.87
70	$2,176.76	$2,399.78	$1,939.61
75	$2,174.20	$2,379.00	$1,926.64
80	$2,250.80	$2,485.27	$1,964.84
85	$2,202.04	$2,441.78	$1,908.60
90 or older	$1,663.04	$1,730.21	$1,615.04

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Actual average and hypothetical average monthly benefits by age for retired-worker beneficiaries with and without the delayed retirement credit
By age and sex	Number of retired workers	Actual average monthly benefit including delayed retirement credit	Hypothetical average monthly benefit without delayed retirement credit
Age 66 All retired workers	5,925	$2,612.53	$2,562.72
Men	3,202	$2,899.96	$2,848.45
Women	2,723	$2,274.54	$2,226.72
Row 3 - Cell 0	Row 3 - Cell 1	Row 3 - Cell 2	Row 3 - Cell 3
Age 67 All retired workers	149,758	$2,510.79	$2,430.34
Men	79,496	$2,756.91	$2,671.41
Women	70,262	$2,232.31	$2,157.59
Row 7 - Cell 0	Row 7 - Cell 1	Row 7 - Cell 2	Row 7 - Cell 3
Age 70 All retired workers	677,305	$3,031.98	$2,508.98
Men	360,066	$3,333.57	$2,760.45
Women	317,239	$2,689.67	$2,223.56
Row 11 - Cell 0	Row 11 - Cell 1	Row 11 - Cell 2	Row 11 - Cell 3
Age 75 All retired workers	434,845	$2,995.23	$2,424.11
Men	221,559	$3,308.74	$2,695.36
Women	213,286	$2,669.56	$2,142.34
Row 15 - Cell 0	Row 15 - Cell 1	Row 15 - Cell 2	Row 15 - Cell 3
Age 80 All retired workers	155,124	$2,725.24	$2,257.55
Men	73,971	$3,055.02	$2,556.70
Women	81,153	$2,424.64	$1,984.88
Row 19 - Cell 0	Row 19 - Cell 1	Row 19 - Cell 2	Row 19 - Cell 3
Age 85 All retired workers	52,054	$2,220.49	$1,872.93
Men	20,260	$2,467.89	$2,133.12
Women	31,794	$2,062.84	$1,707.13
Row 23 - Cell 0	Row 23 - Cell 1	Row 23 - Cell 2	Row 23 - Cell 3
90 or older All retired workers	418,086	$2,220.16	$2,041.45
Men	207,004	$2,456.28	$2,263.63
Women	211,082	$1,988.61	$1,823.56

How to estimate your monthly benefits

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One way to estimate your Social Security benefits is to create an account through the SSA's website (or sign in to your existing account) and use their benefits calculator.

This online tool helps you account for your earnings history and expected future earnings to estimate your benefits at ages 62, 67, and 70, allowing you to make an informed choice about when to apply for Social Security benefits.

You can also visit a local Social Security office for additional information and assistance.

Tip: I recommend you read How to Estimate Your Social Security Benefits in Six Steps to understand how your benefit amount is determined and learn how to calculate your estimated benefits.

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Once you've estimated your Social Security benefits by age, you'll have a better sense of your retirement income. You can also compare your benefits with others of the same age.

Remember, though, that Social Security is just one part of a retirement plan. You should likely supplement your benefits with a 401(k), IRA, or other investment.

To get an idea of how your full retirement portfolio compares to peers, read:

The Average 401(k) Balance by Age

The Average IRA Balance by Age

The Average Retirement Savings by Age

Donna joined Kiplinger as a personal finance writer in 2023. She spent more than a decade as the contributing editor of J.K.Lasser's Your Income Tax Guide and edited state specific legal treatises at ALM Media. She has shared her expertise as a guest on Bloomberg, CNN, Fox, NPR, CNBC and many other media outlets around the nation. She is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School and the University at Buffalo.