At sixty-five, the typical Social Security benefit one might expect
As you approach retirement, you might be pondering over the amount of income you'll receive from Social Security. It's a valid question, even if retirement is years away and you're just starting to develop a solid retirement plan. You might also be curious about the typical retiree's current payout.
For the most authentic insights, visit the Social Security Administration (SSA) site and create a my Social Security account. Once set up, you can retrieve an estimate of your forthcoming benefits, based on your earnings history, anytime.
For your reference, the overall average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for all ages was $1,922 as of September. This translates to roughly $23,000 annually – for this year. Benefits tend to grow with cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that almost annually take place.
If you're considering retiring in your mid-60s, you might be curious about the Social Security benefits that could be due then. As of the end of 2023, the average benefit for a 65-year-old was $1,563, equating to roughly $18,750 for the year.
What to consider
At this point, you might feel a little disheartened, questioning if retirement is even worth the wait. Take a moment to consider these perspectives:
- There are several actions you can undertake to enhance your future Social Security benefits. One such approach is to focus on enhancing your income. You might also consider postponing the claim of your benefits. Since the longer you wait, the more substantial they become (up to age 70), this strategy tends to be the best option for most individuals – to wait until age 70.
- Another potent step is to postpone your retirement by a few years. This allows you to set aside more resources for investment and implies that your retirement fund doesn't have to sustain you for as many years.
- It makes sense to set up diverse income sources for your retirement. These can include income from dividend-paying stocks, rental income from properties you own and lease, interest from bonds, income from one or more annuities, and numerous other income streams.
Incorporating additional income sources can help enhance your retirement finances. This could involve investing in dividend-paying stocks or earning rental income from properties. Furthermore, delaying the claim of your Social Security benefits can significantly increase their value, as the longer you wait, the more substantial they become, up to age 70.
