Social Security benefits change depending on your current and past income, and the age at which you started claiming benefits.
The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment boosts benefits by 2.8%.
The average retired worker gets more than $2,000 per month in Social Security benefits in 2026.
The average Social Security benefit in 2026 is $2,071 per month.
Social Security benefits vary for each person, depending on a few factors. You can start receiving Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, but your payments will be lower than if you had waited until your full retirement age (FRA). (If you were born in 1960 or later, your FRA is 67.)
Once you reach your FRA, which varies depending on when you were born, you will receive your full benefits. If you wait longer, your benefits will continue to increase until you reach the age of 70. If you started receiving benefits before your FRA and are still working, your benefits will also change depending on how much income you earn per year.
Your benefits are based on the average indexed monthly earnings you earned in your highest-earning 35 years. The more you made in those years, the more you’ll receive in benefits once you retire.
Knowing the average benefit nationwide can help you make realistic plans for retirement. You might find the average benefit to be too little to live on, so you’ll have to turn to other funding sources to fill the gap: for example, a 401(k), an IRA, or a part-time job in retirement.
Every year, the Social Security Administration announces a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that increases your monthly check to account for inflation.
2026 Social Security benefits are 2.8% higher than 2025. That’s about $56 more every month for the average retired worker. However, in a recent AARP survey, 3 in 4 respondents said that this boost won’t be enough to keep up with rising prices.
Are you a Social Security recipient? Investopedia wants to know if your Social Security benefits cover your monthly costs.
What is your current Social Security situation?
The annual cost-of-living adjustment is calculated using an inflation index from the third quarter of the prior year.
Many advocates, however, have said this formula does not accurately reflect older adults’ real expenses.
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