67-year-olds get a slightly below-average benefit as a group. Here’s why.
I won’t keep you in suspense. The average 67-year-old retired worker gets a monthly benefit of $1,883.50 per month, according to the 2024 Social Security Statistical Supplement. That’s equivalent to about $22,600 per year in inflation-protected retirement income.
However, it’s lower than the overall average benefit paid to a retired worker, which was $1,905.31 per month according to the same data.
Why do 67-year-olds get a below-average benefit?
67 is the full Social Security retirement age for those born in 1960 or later, and it was between 66 and 67 for everyone who has claimed in the past decade. However, keep in mind that the average benefit at age 67 is lower than the overall average because it only includes people who have either started collecting Social Security early, or who waited until exactly full retirement age, give or take a few months.
In other words, the primary reason the average benefit at age 67 is lower than the overall average is that it doesn’t include anyone who waited more than a few months beyond full retirement age to start collecting benefits.
Consider this. Of the 50.1 million retired workers who collect Social Security, about 12% of them waited until after full retirement age to start. On the other hand, only 6% of those who are 67 have any delayed retirement credit, and among those who do, it isn’t possible to have started Social Security more than a few months before full retirement age.
As a final thought, this is just an average. There are some 67-year-olds who receive more than double the average benefit, and there are some who receive a lot less.
