There are few social programs in the U.S. as scrutinized and beneficial as Social Security. Regardless of how some may feel about how the Social Security program operates, one thing is certain: It's a valuable financial lifeline for millions of American retirees.

As of May 2025, over 55 million people receive Social Security retirement benefits, with most relying on them for most or all of their retirement income. The amount of these benefits varies, but having a gist of average benefits at certain ages can help you set expectations and begin planning your budget accordingly.

For this article, we'll take a look at ages 62, 67, and 70. If you're wondering why those ages specifically, it comes down to this:

• Age 62: The earliest anyone can claim Social Security.
• Age 67: The full retirement age (FRA) for anyone born in 1960 or after.
• Age 70: The latest you can claim benefits and still receive a monthly increase.

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How Social Security calculates your monthly benefit

The first part of how Social Security calculates your monthly benefit deals with your lifetime earnings.

Social Security takes the 35 years when your income was the highest, adjusts them to put them into today's dollar value, and then applies the appropriate formula to calculate your benefit. For anyone without 35 years of work history, Social Security will use zero for those years, which could noticeably bring down your benefit amount.

The more you earn, the higher your benefits (although a maximum benefit is set each year). Of course, this is much easier said than done, making this the harder of the two ways to increase benefits. The second part is more straightforward and deals with when you claim benefits relative to your FRA.

Claiming benefits before your FRA reduces them by 5/9 of 1% each month, up to 36 months. Each additional month after that reduces benefits by 5/12 of 1%. This means that if your FRA is 67 and you claim at 62, your monthly benefit will be reduced by 30%.

Delaying benefits past your FRA increases them by 2/3 of 1% each month, or 8% annually, until you turn 70. If your FRA is 67 and you delay until 70, your monthly benefit will be increased by around 24%.

What are the average benefits at 62, 67, and 70?

The average benefits for Social Security recipients are as follows:

Data source: Social Security Administration. Benefits rounded to the nearest dollar.

It's worth noting that because of differences in lifetime earnings, the average benefit for men and women is usually around a few hundred dollars' difference:

Data source: Social Security Administration. Benefits rounded to the nearest dollar.

When should you claim Social Security benefits?

Unfortunately, there's no straightforward answer to this question. The only exception is if you need Social Security to cover essential expenses, in which case, you should claim as early as possible to secure your livelihood. If that's not your situation, the answer becomes a bit more complicated because you should consider multiple factors in your decision-making process.

For those who want access to their benefits as early as possible or may have health issues that could lower their life expectancy, claiming at 62 makes sense to enjoy your benefits for as long as possible, even if reduced.

For those who have other sources of retirement income and won't realistically need Social Security, delaying until 70 makes sense for the higher monthly benefit.

If you're comfortably in the middle, claiming at FRA could make sense to avoid a benefit reduction and still begin receiving benefits relatively early.

To help decide, check out your benefits estimate on the Social Security Administration's website. It will show you your estimated benefit at various ages, helping you decide which claiming age makes the most sense for your personal situation.