If you start receiving Social Security benefits at age 70, how much will your monthly deposit be in 2025?

Deciding when to start taking Social Security is one of the most important financial choices you’ll make for retirement.

If you wait until age 70, your monthly benefit will be higher than if you claim earlier, but exactly how much more depends on your work history, lifetime earnings, and when your full retirement age (FRA) is. In 2025, understanding these amounts can help you plan smarter.

Averaging the benefit at age 70

Recent data from the Social Security Administration and analyses show that for someone who begins claiming at age 70, the average monthly benefit among retired workers is around $2,188 per month, which works out to about $26,250 annually.

That average comes from people who waited until FRA and then delayed further until age 70, taking advantage of what’s called Delayed Retirement Credits. These credits boost your payments for each month you postpone beyond your full retirement age, up to 70.

How delaying to age 70 impacts your payout

If your birth year is 1960 or later, your FRA is 67. That means waiting until 70 gives you about an 8% increase per full year delayed over FRA.

So, delaying three years beyond 67 could result in roughly a 24% larger benefit than you would get if you claimed right at the full retirement age. Of course, you must live long enough for those extra monthly dollars to outweigh the months you went without benefits.

Under the SSA‘s rules for Delayed Retirement Credits, the benefit stops increasing once you hit 70. So age 70 is the “sweet spot” for maximizing Social Security benefits via waiting.

What averages don’t tell you

While $2,188/month is a useful general benchmark, that average depends heavily on prior earnings, number of years worked, whether you earned the taxable maximum, and your birth cohort. Some people will see much more, others less.

For example, the maximum possible benefit for someone who qualifies in 2025 at age 70 (having earned at or above the taxable maximum for most of their working life) is $5,108/month.

Hitting that maximum requires decades of high contributions, typically 35 years of maximum taxable wages.

The difference between claiming early (at 62) and waiting until 70 can be significant. One recent analysis shows that the average benefit at age 62 is about $1,377/month, while at age 70 it climbs to $2,188/month. That’s nearly $811 more per month and over $9,700 per year in extra income.

What to consider if you’re thinking of waiting until 70

• Life expectancy & health: If you expect to live well into your 80s or beyond, waiting tends to pay off.
• Other income sources: If you have savings, pensions, or other sources, you may afford to delay.
• Financial needs now: If you need income earlier, waiting may not be practical.
• Secondary benefits: Spouse, survivor, or family benefit calculations can also depend heavily on when you file.

If you begin Social Security at age 70 in 2025 and have average earnings and a typical record, you’re likely looking at around $2,188 per month in benefits.

But if you’ve earned more, or had maximum taxable earnings over many years, your benefit could be much higher, up to the $5,108 maximum. Delaying can yield significant gains, but your personal health, income needs, and retirement plans should guide the decision.

Use the SSA‘s online tools and calculators to run your own numbers, because averages are helpful, but your actual benefit depends on your unique work and earnings history.