This Is the Average Social Security Benefit From Age 62 to 99

When you make your retirement plan, you'll almost definitely include Social Security as an income source. The majority of retirees collect Social Security and depend on benefits to help cover the bills.

Unfortunately, despite its importance, Social Security has some big limitations. Most notably, it was designed to be part of a three-legged stool that supports you along with retirement savings and a pension. Because it's supposed to provide some but not all of your income, benefits may be lower than you'd anticipate.

Taking a look at average benefits offers insight into what Social Security can actually do for you, so let's see what seniors are collecting from 62 to 99.

These are the average Social Security benefits at every age

The table below shows average Social Security benefits based on age.

| Age | Average** Amount** | Age | Average A****mount | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 62 | $1,424.40 | 81 | $2,099.82 | | 63 | $1,435.81 | 82 | $2,098.76 | | 64 | $1,478.00 | 83 | $2,102.12 | | 65 | $1,607.27 | 84 | $2,101.26 | | 66 | $1,807.28 | 85 | $2,077.11 | | 67 | $2,016.48 | 86 | $2,036.62 | | 68 | $2,052.64 | 87 | $2,015.54 | | 69 | $2,096.95 | 88 | $1,983.29 | | 70 | $2,274.68 | 89 | $1,925.36 | | 71 | $2,247.76 | 90 | $1,898.34 | | 72 | $2,205.21 | 91 | $1,894.74 | | 73 | $2,207.96 | 92 | $1,899.20 | | 74 | $2,178.87 | 93 | $1,920.13 | | 75 | $2,144.88 | 94 | $1,907.78 | | 76 | $2,157.21 | 95 | $1,890.03 | | 77 | $2,170.80 | 96 | $1,889.08 | | 78 | $2,140.16 | 97 | $1,891.21 | | 79 | $2,155.77 | 98 | $1,887.57 | | 80 | $2,106.29 | 99 & over | $1,845.00 |

Table source: Social Security Administration

What can you learn from these averages?

So, why do these numbers matter? There are a couple of things to learn from them:

• Average benefits aren't enough to live on: These averages underscore that benefits alone aren't enough. Even the highest average Social Security check provides less than $30,000 in income per year. You need money from retirement plans to supplement benefits.
• **Average benefits initially increase with age. **Average benefits tend to increase with age, but only up to a point. Benefits generally increase from 62 to 70 because delaying a Social Security claim until 70 maxes out your benefits. If you claim before your full retirement age, you shrink your checks due to early filing penalties. And if you claim before 70, you miss delayed retirement credits that increase your benefits. So, those who start payments sooner than 70 don't collect as much as people who wait.
• **Benefits for the oldest retirees are smaller. **Unfortunately, some of the oldest retirees have much smaller benefits. This happens because they typically earned far less during their working lives due to routine wage growth. This means, however, that the oldest retirees have far less buying power than younger workers who earned higher wages and thus bigger benefits.

For retirees with small checks who struggle late in life, it's worth noting that benefits are supposed to keep pace with inflation. They don't, though, because the formula used to calculate Social Security cost-of-living adjustments doesn't accurately measure the inflation retirees experience. Older seniors see the buying power of their benefits decline because checks aren't increasing as much as they should, and they often suffer financially as a result.

Understanding these facts can help you be better prepared for retirement by making a plan to claim Social Security later when possible, and to invest as much as you can in a 401(k) or other investment account so you have the money for a secure future even if Social Security doesn't provide as much income as you expect.