How Much Is the Average Social Security Check?

You may be aware that Social Security is a benefit available to most people in retirement, but understanding how much you’ll get might feel like a slippery task. There are lots of factors that will influence your monthly benefit payment amount, and many of these factors can change before you reach retirement.

Having a general sense of what the average monthly Social Security payment is today can help provide a frame of reference as you consider this benefit and how it will compliment your financial future . Here, we’ll give you a brief overview of how Social Security works and today’s average payment amount.

What is Social Security?

Social Security is a benefit that provides a regular source of income from the government. It’s funded by payroll taxes collected from workers and employers, which are then stored in Social Security Trust Funds. These funds help provide retirement benefits, offering essential financial support during your post-work years. Social Security also extends its reach with disability and need-based benefits, supporting those unable to work due to health conditions or economic challenges. It can also offer survivor benefits, providing crucial assistance to family members of deceased workers to help ensure their financial stability.

Different types of Social Security benefits

The payment amount can vary depending on what type of benefit it is. Here is how the Social Security Administration determines benefit payments for the different benefit types:

Social Security retirement benefits

The retirement component of Social Security is the aspect most people are familiar with, as it provides vital financial support during your post-working years. There is a good reason for this; 69 million Americans receive a Social Security benefit each year, and 78.5 percent of these are retirement benefits. The retirement benefit comes in the form of a monthly paycheck during your retirement years.

Benefit payments are calculated depending on what year you were born, when you begin taking retirement benefits and how much you made while you were working. Most people are eligible to begin taking Social Security as early as age 62; however, taking Social Security before the full retirement age (generally 67) permanently reduces your monthly benefit. Likewise, delaying taking Social Security increases your monthly benefit by 8 percent per year until you reach age 70. This is why when you choose to begin to take Social Security is an important factor in determining how much your monthly Social Security benefit payment will be. There are other factors that may also impact your benefit amount. These include:

• Full Retirement Age (FRA): Your FRA determines the baseline for your benefit amount. Claiming before or after this age adjusts your monthly income.
• Delayed Retirement Credits: Waiting beyond your FRA to claim can earn you credits, which may boost your benefit amount significantly.
• Annual Inflation Adjustments: Cost-of-living adjustments may impact your benefits to keep up with inflation.

Social Security disability and need-based benefits

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are available to “insured” individuals, meaning they have contributed to Social Security through former employment (before they were unable to work). The amount of the benefit payment (and payments to eligible family members) will be based on total income during the time of work.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is another benefit program available to individuals who have a disability and have demonstrated additional financial limits or people age 65 or older (without disabilities) who meet the financial requirements. SSI benefits depend on how much the beneficiary (or their family members if the beneficiary is a dependent) is making and how that compares to the SSI federal benefit rate. (It is possible to collect both SSDI benefits and SSI benefits concurrently.)

Social Security survivor benefits

Survivor benefits are available to certain family members of a deceased worker, typically including surviving spouses, children under 18 and, sometimes, dependent parents. Like retirement benefits, survivor benefits vary depending on how much the person who died earned before passing. The higher the income, the more was likely paid into Social Security and the higher the benefit payment is likely to be.

Survivor benefits will also vary depending on the beneficiary’s relationship to the deceased. Generally, a surviving spouse may be eligible to receive 75 or 100 percent of the deceased worker’s benefit amount, and a surviving child under 18 can collect 75 percent of the retirement benefit amount.

Average Social Security retirement payments

In June 2025, according to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit for a retired worker was $2,005.05. But remember, your specific benefit payment amount will be specific to you and your situation. Whether you begin taking Social Security before, at or after the full retirement age can change this payment amount as well. Here’s a link to the full retirement age chart if you need help determining your full retirement age.

There is also a maximum amount you’re eligible to receive. In 2025, the maximum monthly retirement benefit available is $4,018 if you retire at age 70. If you retire at age 62 in 2025, the maximum benefit is $2,831.

Once retired workers begin to collect Social Security, their spouses and their dependent children may also be eligible to receive a benefit. Here are the average monthly payments for the family of retired workers:

• Spouse of retired worker: $953.33
• Children of retired workers: $924.87

Average SSDI and SSI payments

Disability insurance benefit payments also have a fairly wide range, but here are the monthly averages for 2025.

• Disabled workers receive a monthly average payment of $1,582.07.
• Spouses of disabled workers receive a monthly average payment of $443.83.
• Children of disabled workers receive a monthly average payment of $510.49.

Average monthly SSI payment for beneficiaries

As of January 2024, the overall average SSI payment is $697.89. This amount can also vary by age (as well as income). Here are averages for different age ranges:

• Those under 18 receive an average monthly payment of $844.69.
• Those ages 18–64 receive an average monthly payment of $763.87.
• Those 65 or older receive an average monthly payment of $593.67.

Average survivor Social Security payments

Because the relationship to the deceased has a large impact on how much a survivor will receive, we’ve broken out the average monthly benefit payments that way, too.

Average monthly Social Security survivor benefit payment for beneficiaries

• Children of deceased workers receive an average monthly payment of $1,138.30.
• Widowed mothers and fathers receive an average monthly payment of $1,324.32.
• Nondisabled widow(er)s receive an average monthly payment of $1,863.18.
• Disabled widow(er)s receive an average monthly payment of $954.06.
• Parents of deceased workers receive an average monthly payment of $1,695.65.

Does Social Security adjust for inflation or a rise in the cost of living?

Yes. To keep up with inflation and increases in the cost of living, the Social Security Administration (SSA) annually adjusts monthly benefit payments through a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). The COLA percentage increase is based on the percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures every month to track the average change over time in the prices of consumer goods and services for urban wage earners and clerical workers.

For example, in June 2025, anyone on Social Security received a 2.5 percent COLA increase to the benefit amount they were receiving in 2024. This increase is calculated from the CPI-W data from the third quarter of the previous year. Notices about the increase amounts are typically available on your Social Security online account in December, allowing you to plan and make adjustments to other streams of retirement income for the following year.

Given that the life expectancy for a 65-year-old is now more than 20 years, you could be collecting Social Security for that amount of time or even longer. Over such a long period, your cost of living can change significantly, making these annual adjustments crucial for maintaining the purchasing power of Social Security benefits.

How are Social Security checks taxed?

How your Social Security benefit is taxed depends on several factors, such as your combined income, which includes adjusted gross income, tax-exempt interest and half of your Social Security benefits. In some cases, you may not have to pay taxes at all on your benefit, but about 40 percent of people collecting Social Security will pay some taxes on their benefit, according to the Social Security Administration. But the good news is this: You’ll never have to pay taxes on more than 85 percent of your benefit.

What is a good monthly retirement income?

How much you need to retire will depend entirely on how you want to live in retirement and what you want to do with your retirement. If you’re looking to live a life like the one you had before you retired, you’ll probably want an income similar to just before you retired. If you’re looking to relocate and travel more, you may need more.

But the key is that a good retirement income should be a balanced one. Social Security provides a great base of income in retirement, but chances are it’s not going to be enough to cover your monthly expenses completely. Diversifying your sources of retirement income with vehicles like a 401(k), an IRA, an annuity or even a permanent life insurance policy can help protect you against market volatility and give you a steady income in retirement. If you need help designing a retirement plan or figuring out how to maximize your Social Security payment, a financial advisor should be able to provide recommendations to help you build the life you want in retirement.

All investments carry some level of risk, including the potential loss of principal invested. Diversification does not assure profit or protect against loss.