The Social Security Administration (SSA) projects an average monthly benefit of $2,071 for retirees in 2026, equivalent to $24,852 annually. This figure incorporates the 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied in January of this year, which added approximately $56 per month to the 2025 amount.
The COLA calculation was derived from variations in the Consumer Price Index for urban workers (CPI-W) between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025.
The Differences of Retiring at Different Ages Are Huge
The average amount does not represent the system’s ceiling. For those who reached full retirement age (FRA) in 2026, the maximum benefit amounts to $4,152 per month. At the other end of the spectrum, retirees who claimed at age 62—the minimum age allowed—receive an average of $1,341.61 per month.
The gap between these two points illustrates the significant impact that the timing of the claim has on lifetime monthly income.
The COLA operates as a multiplier on the base amount the retiree set when making their claim. This means that those who accepted a permanent reduction by claiming early receive each annual adjustment calculated on a lower starting amount, widening the accumulated gap compared to those who waited.
Retiring at 62 Cuts Your Benefit by 30% Forever
The FRA age for people born in 1960 or later is 67. Claiming benefits at 62 triggers a permanent 30% reduction in the amount the retiree would have received under the FRA. Applied to the 2026 average, that cut reduces the monthly check from $2,071 to approximately $1,450—a difference of more than $620 each month for the remainder of the beneficiary’s life.
The reduction formula works in two stages. The first 36 months of early retirement are penalized at a rate of five-ninths of 1% per month. The additional months—up to the 60 months between ages 62 and 67—are reduced to five-twelfths of 1% per month.
The final result for someone claiming at exactly age 62, with a retirement age of 67, is the maximum 30% reduction, applied definitively and irreversibly.
In cumulative terms, the magnitude of the cost becomes more apparent over time. For a retiree with a base benefit of $2,000 in the FRA, claiming at 62 instead of waiting implies a loss of approximately $180,000 in accrued benefits over 25 years of retirement, not considering subsequent COLA adjustments.
What Happens When the Comparison Is Extended to the Age of 70?
The system allows for the accumulation of deferred retirement credits until age 70, at which point the increases cease. The percentage difference between claiming at 62 and waiting until 70 is greater than the percentage difference between claiming at 62 and the FRA.
The average check at age 70 is $2,148.12 per month, compared to the average of $1,341.61 received by someone who claimed at 62—a difference of 37.6%.
In the maximum benefit scenario, the numbers are even more pronounced. Claiming at age 62 caps the benefit at $2,969 per month. Waiting until the FRA raises it to $4,152. Deferring until age 70 takes that amount to $5,181 per month—a difference of $2,212 per month compared to the early claim scenario.
Each of these maximum amounts serves as the basis upon which the annual COLA adjustments are applied in subsequent years, extending the divergence between scenarios throughout the beneficiary’s lifetime.
