Here's some depressing information. As of April, the average monthly Social Security benefit was $1,915. On an annual basis, that's nearly $23,000. Few of us would look at that as an income we could live on in retirement -- which is why it's so important to be planning for retirement and saving and investing for it, too.

Remember that the $1,915 figure is just an average. Millions collect more than that, and a few manage to collect the maximum from Social Security, which is $4,873 per month this year. It's probably safe to assume that you won't be able to snag that maximum benefit, though there are ways to increase your Social Security benefits.

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Source Fool.com