Here's the Average Social Security Benefit for Retired Workers at Ages 62, 66, and 70
Many Americans are woefully underinformed when it comes to Social Security, and I'm not just talking about young people who need not worry about benefits for decades. MassMutual recently reported that 41% of adults aged 55 to 65 failed a basic Social Security quiz, and another 37% barely passed.
That's concerning, because millions of Americans rely heavily on benefits during retirement. In fact, nearly 90% of retired workers consider monthly Social Security checks an essential source of income, according to Gallup. That means knowledge gaps related to the program can have serious financial consequences.
For instance, all else being equal, payouts are much higher when retirees claim Social Security at age 70 rather than age 62. Yet, nearly 25% of newly awarded beneficiaries started Social Security at age 62 in 2022, and less than 10% started at age 70. That pattern exists in previous years as well, and it may be explained by knowledge gaps related to how Social Security benefits are calculated.
Source Fool.com
