Planning for Social Security and choosing when to claim benefits are two things every worker needs to do before retirement.
Most people rely on Social Security benefits as a primary or secondary source of income in retirement, so it’s a good idea for future retirees to have some idea of what that amount could look like, which depends heavily on the age at which they claim benefits.
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Here are the average Social Security benefits for ages 62, 67, and 70.
The importance of ages 62, 67, and 70
Retirees can claim benefits as early as age 62 and as late as age 70.
However, there are trade-offs. The general rule of thumb is that the earlier a person claims benefits, the less that person will receive. The later they claim benefits, the more they’ll receive. The goal of the Social Security Administration (SSA) is for retirees to receive the same amount of benefits over their lifetime.
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Your benefits are lowered and increased based on your primary insurance amount, which is the amount of benefits you’re entitled to at your full retirement age (FRA). This is calculated based on the number of years you worked and how much you made over your career.
For those born in 1960 or later, the FRA is 67. For each month a retiree claims benefits before their FRA, their benefits are reduced by a fraction of a percentage point. Retirees who claim benefits at age 62 can see their benefits lowered by as much as 30%.
Meanwhile, delaying benefits past one’s FRA increases total benefits. Retirees who delay benefits until age 70 can increase them by 24%.
Deciding when to claim benefits
Each year, the SSA publishes an annual statistical supplement for Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance trust funds, providing detailed data on average monthly benefit amounts.
The 2026 annual statistics supplement has released much of the data for December 2025; however, the report is not yet complete and may be subject to revisions.
Here is the average monthly Social Security benefit for ages 62 to 70:
62: $1,424.40
63: $1,435.81
64: $1,478.00
65: $1,607.27
66: $1,807.28
67: $2,016.48
68: $2,052.64
69: $2,096.95
70: $2,274.68
As you can see, the earlier a retiree claims benefits, the less they will receive in monthly benefits. The difference between the average monthly benefit at age 70 and age 62 is roughly $850, or $10,200 annually.
This is why retirees need to think carefully about when to claim. Now, while the $10,200 difference implies this is a no-brainer decision, that’s not actually the case because people’s circumstances vary widely.
If you’re 62, have solid savings to cover your daily expenses, and are in relatively good health, then it likely makes sense to wait as long as possible to claim benefits.
However, if you’re 62 and struggling to cover your daily expenses, or just barely covering them, and you have reason to believe your health expenses will rise soon, then it’s a good idea to consider claiming benefits early. However, retirees can claim benefits at any time after age 62, so there is no need to rush the decision.
Ultimately, it’s important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for deciding when to claim Social Security benefits. But one thing everyone should start doing as they approach retirement is to make a plan and map out retirement ambitions and their costs, whether simple or extravagant.
Doing this will enable retirees to make better, more informed decisions about Social Security once they are eligible to claim benefits.
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Here’s the Average Social Security Benefit for Ages 62, 67, and 70 was originally published by The Motley Fool
