How much is the average Social Security check?

Social Security provides a monthly benefit check to many types of recipients. According to the Social Security Administration, the average check will be $1,782.74 as of July 2024—but that amount can vary drastically depending on the type of recipient. In fact, retirees typically earn more than the overall average.

Here you can see the average Social Security check per recipient, how much your check might increase over time, and the maximum eligibility.

Average Social Security Check by Type

Most people think that Social Security is a program aimed only at retirees, but in fact it also supports many other groups, including the disabled, spouses and minor children of retirees, and spouses and minor children of deceased workers.

The amounts received by each group vary greatly.

In fact, the average retiree receives $1,919.40 each month – about 8 percent more than welfare recipients overall. This is how the figures break down by recipient, as of July 2024.

The table shows the three main categories of recipients: old-age pension, survivors' pension and disability pension. The totals of these categories add up to approximately 100 percent. The subcategory below shows the main recipient of social assistance for that category.

As you can see, retirement benefits make up the largest portion of Social Security—79.2 percent—with the majority of that going to retirees. The rest of this category goes to spouses and minor children of retirees, who receive an average check for $892 to $910 per month.

Survivor benefits make up 8.5 percent of Social Security benefits. The highest subcategory is non-disabled widows or widowers, who receive an average of $1,784.31 per month.

Disability insurance comprises about 12.3 percent of all Social Security payments. The largest recipients are disabled workers, who receive an average of $1,538.85.

These benefits may not be fully taxable. Some welfare recipients can also legally avoid taxing their benefits.

Benefits increase with adjustment of living costs

While Social Security benefits are a nice sum, if they remained the same for the next 30 years, their purchasing power would decline due to inflation. That's why Social Security increases its benefit checks over time with a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

This increase is based on a version of the consumer price index, which measures how much inflation has affected the prices consumers pay for goods and services.

Normally, the COLA is relatively small, and the increase for 2024 was 3.2 percent due to higher inflation. This follows an 8.7 percent increase in 2023. In 2025, Social Security benefits are expected to increase by an estimated 2.6 percent.

Here is the extent of the adjustments that recipients have benefited from over the past decade.

Source: Social Security Administration

So what would your total check be if you started with a $1,000 benefit in 2014? In 2024, you would receive $1,307.75.

What is the maximum monthly social security benefit?

How much you can get from Social Security depends on a few factors: how much you earned during your working life, when you start taking your benefits, and increases in your COLA. Over time, your benefits will naturally increase if the COLA shows an increase.

The maximum initial monthly benefit for 2024 after retirement age:

• At age 62: $2,710
• At full retirement age: $3,822
• At age 70: $4,873

These numbers assume a worker has had a steady income equal to the maximum taxable amount since age 22. For 2024, the maximum taxable income is $168,600, a number that typically increases each year. Here's how to estimate your benefit check.

Your pension depends on how much you've earned, up to a maximum amount per year. And if you claim your pension later in your life, it can also increase significantly. Workers can claim early pension at 62 if they've worked for 10 years before reaching what's known as full retirement age, which can be between 65 and 67, depending on your date of birth.

If you claim benefits early, your check will be smaller than it might otherwise be at full retirement or even later. If you wait until age 70 to claim benefits, you'll get even more each month.

In fact, the right age to apply for Social Security benefits is probably the most debated topic about this program.

To receive these benefits, you pay Social Security taxes of 6.2 percent on your income, up to the maximum tax rate. Your employer pays another 6.2 percent of your salary into the fund, but if you're self-employed, you'll have to pay that part of the tax bill, too.

Conclusion

The average Social Security check was never intended to replace all of a retiree's income, so it's important that Social Security be part of your overall retirement savings and not your only source of income. If you have years left until retirement, it's important that you start saving and investing while you still have time working in your favor.

— Bank rates Rachel Christian has contributed to an update of this story.