Early retirement calculator: Average Social Security check at age 61
The SSA provides crucial financial support for retirees. Some recipients choose to retire early, but what is the average Social Security payment at age 61?
Every single months tens of millions of Americans receive payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The vast majority of those who benefit from the SSA’s work are retirees, who get monthly payments to help financially once they are no longer working.
The exact amount of the check depends on a number of factors, including years worked and the recipient’s age at retirement. But as a general rule, the longer you wait to retire the bigger your monthly insurance check will be.
According to the SSA the minimum retirement age is 62, but those born in 1960 or older must wait until age 67 to reach full retirement age. However, the process can be delayed until the age of 70 if you want to receive more money in your monthly payments.
So what happens if I want to retire before the minimum age? How much money will I receive?
Early retirement calculator: Average Social Security check at age 61
As of February 2024, the average monthly retirment benefit for recipients of Social Security is $1,781.63. However that figure varies depending on a number of additional factors, especially if the benefit is requested before the minimum age.
For example claimants who start to claim when they are 62, five years before the full retirement age of 67, will receive monthly payments of around 70% of the size that they would have got if they had waited. The average 62 year old receives a Social Security payment of $1,247.40.
To work act exactly how much you stand to receive at a given age, try this handy Early Retirement Calculator developed by Bogna Szyk and Mateusz Mucha. All you have to do is fill in the requested fields and the simulator will do the rest.
The amount received changes from year to year due to the cost of living adjustment (COLA), which is an equalization made by the SSA. The alteration is designed to bridge the gap between the size of Social Security payments and the current inflation rate. During periods when inflation is high this adjustment is crucial to ensure that recipients’ buying power is not significantly affected by price changes.