The year of retirement for United States citizens largely determines the amount of the Social Security benefit. Thus, claiming a payment at age 62 is not the same as claiming it at age 67 or 70. The later we ask for a retirement benefit the bigger the check will be.
In this sense, the average Social Security benefit check does not mean that all Americans get at least that much. Ultimately, the average check is a ballpark figure for all the checks the Administration sends out at all different ages.
Having a Social Security payment ensures monthly income, but the average payment depends on many factors. In fact, each month the average check can be recalculated and we can see that it changes as the Administration accepts new checks each month and therefore adds to the count.
What is the average Social Security at 62, 67, and 70?
Retirement age is key to being able to have the best possible check, as we marked above. However, it’s also important to know that there are more elements that shape the check. Still, let’s look at the average Social Security check payments. While it is true that this figure is from December 2023 it helps us to get an idea.
Average checks by retirement age:
- Age 62. 1,298 dollars per month.
- Age 67. 1,883 dollars per month
- Age 70. 2,037 dollars per month.
As you can see, the year of retirement changes a lot the final check we will get, although we must remember that the age of retirement is not the only factor that makes us have a check or another. Even so, we must also wait a bit to find out what the final average Social Security check will be in 2024 since we will not be able to draw these conclusions until the end of the year.
Remember that to get a good Social Security check you have to retire the later the better, work for 35 years and have a good salary during that time. Only in this way is it possible to reach the maximum check within our possibilities. Although it is true that the average check is not the same for everyone and that the maximum is difficult to achieve, the ideal is to have as much as we can.