Retirees can maximize their Social Security benefits by claiming at this age.
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Social Security is often the largest source of income for retired workers, so it makes sense to do everything in your power to maximize your benefits. However, many people degrade themselves by claiming benefits as early as possible (age 62), in which case they get the lowest possible payout based on their work history.
Some of these people may not understand the consequences of their decisions. According to a 2025 study from the National Retirement Institute, four in 10 adults believe that even if they claim Social Security early, their benefits will automatically increase once they reach full retirement age. But that’s incorrect. If you claim early, your benefit reduction will be permanent.
We’ll show you exactly how much your claiming age affects your Social Security benefits.
Here are the average Social Security benefits for retired workers at various ages:
The Social Security Administration publishes anonymized benefit data to promote transparency and improve public understanding. The information in the table is from the biannual report, which was last updated in December 2025. It shows the average monthly Social Security benefits for retired workers between the ages of 62 and 70.
Data source: Social Security Administration. Note: Payments are rounded to the nearest dollar.
As shown, the average 70-year-old retiree receives significantly more Social Security benefits than the average 62-year-old retiree. This trend can be explained by differences in claim age. Workers are entitled to social security at age 62, but payments are at their lowest at that age. Workers are not entitled to the highest possible payment (based on their individual work history) until they reach the age of 70.
Here’s how social security benefits are calculated
The Social Security Administration considers two main variables when calculating retiree benefits: work history and filing age. This two-step process explains exactly how these variables affect your final payout.
- Step 1: A formula is applied to the 35 highest-paid years of a worker’s inflation-adjusted earnings to determine the Principal Insurance Amount (PIA). PIA is a benefit that workers receive when they begin Social Security at Full Retirement Age (FRA), or age 67 for those born after 1960.
- Step 2: PIA is adjusted for early or delayed retirement. Retirees who claim Social Security before FRA receive fewer benefits. This means that you will receive less than 100% of your PIA. Workers who start Social Security after FRA receive larger benefits. This means you will receive more than 100% of your PIA.
There are two important conditions. First, your eligibility for retirement benefits starts at age 62, so you can’t claim them earlier. Second, delayed retirement benefits stop accumulating at age 70 and should never be claimed after that point.
The table explains the relationship between year of birth and FRA. It shows the benefits (as a percentage of PIA) that retired workers in each age group would receive if they claimed Social Security at ages 62 and 70. In other words, this table shows the minimum and maximum possible payments for each age group.
Data source: Social Security Administration.
This table shows that Social Security is highly dependent on your claiming age. In fact, retirees born after 1960 can increase their benefits by 77 percent by simply claiming Social Security at age 70 instead of age 62.
Example: The average retired worker’s 2024 PIA was $2,116. Assuming the year of birth is 1960 or later, if the person started Social Security at age 62, they would receive $1,481 per month (or 70% multiplied by $2,116). But if that same person started Social Security at age 70, they would receive $2,624 per month (or 124% multiplied by $2,116).
The exact amount will vary from person to person due to differences in lifetime income, but the rate of increase is constant. In this case, $2,624 is 77% greater than $1,481.
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