average Social Security benefit, USA News: Your age group shapes your check more than you might expect. If you are 87 or getting close to it, your Social Security check probably looks different from what a 67-year-old retiree receives, and not just because of cost-of-living adjustments. The age at which you claimed, the economy you worked through, and even your sex all leave a mark on your monthly benefit decades later.
Comparing yourself to a nationwide average can be misleading at this stage of life, since the numbers tell a more layered story than a single figure suggests. Data from the Social Security Administration’s age-by-age beneficiary data shows that as of December 2025, the average monthly benefit for retired workers age 87 was $2,015.54. That breaks down to $2,180.24 for men and $1,875.35 for women at that age, marking a gap of roughly $305 a month.
For comparison, the average monthly benefit across all retired workers, regardless of age, was $2,071.30 as of December 2025. That means the typical 87-year-old retiree collects slightly less than the overall average.
Earnings Records and Calculation Factors
Social Security benefits are calculated from your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings, known as your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings. That figure determines your Primary Insurance Amount, which is the benefit you would receive at full retirement age. Today’s 87-year-olds were born around 1938 or 1939, placing their full retirement age at 65 or close to it, several years earlier than the full retirement age of 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. They also built their earnings records in a different wage economy, with lower lifetime earnings on average than today’s workers.
The difference between what men and women collect at 87 traces back to lifetime earnings rather than benefit formulas. Women in this generation were more likely to leave the workforce for caregiving, work part-time, or earn less than male counterparts across their careers. Some women at this age also receive benefits based on a spouse’s earnings record rather than their own.
Income Stability and Taxes in Late Retirement
By your late 80s, Social Security often becomes the most stable and sometimes the dominant source of monthly income. Pensions may have been structured as fixed amounts set decades ago and eroded by inflation, while investment portfolios may have been drawn down for years. Social Security adjusts annually for inflation through the cost-of-living adjustment.
That stability matters when managing withdrawals from retirement accounts. Required minimum distributions from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs can push total taxable income higher. Under current rules, if combined income exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers, up to 50% of the benefit may be taxable, and up to 85% above higher thresholds.
Medicare Part B’s standard monthly premium is $202.90 for 2026, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and higher-income beneficiaries pay additional income-related monthly adjustment amounts. These premiums are often deducted directly from Social Security checks, which is worth factoring in when comparing net benefits.
