Here's the Average Social Security Benefit of 87-Year-Old Americans (How Do You Compare?)

If you're 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. Here's what the data actually shows for Americans at age 87, and why your own number matters more than any benchmark.

For retirees whose checks fall below the average, finding ways to stretch your retirement dollars further can help make a fixed income go further.

The average benefit for 87-year-olds, by the numbers

As of December 2025, the average monthly benefit for retired workers age 87 was $2,015.54, according to the Social Security Administration's age-by-age beneficiary data. That breaks down to $2,180.24 for men and $1,875.35 for women at that age, 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, per the same SSA dataset. That means the typical 87-year-old retiree collects slightly less than the overall average.

Why benefits dip slightly at older ages

Social Security benefits are calculated from your highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings, a figure known as your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). That AIME determines your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), the benefit you'd receive at full retirement age (FRA), the age at which you qualify for 100% of your calculated benefit.

Today's 87-year-olds were born around 1938 or 1939, placing their FRA at 65 or close to it, several years earlier than the FRA of 67 that applies to 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, and a lower taxable maximum, the cap on earnings subject to Social Security tax, which sits at $184,500 for 2026.

Many in this cohort claimed benefits decades ago. While COLAs are applied every year regardless of age, a benefit that started smaller decades ago can still trail one that started later or at a higher claiming age, even after years of adjustments.

The gender gap, explained

The difference between what men and women collect at 87 isn't a quirk of Social Security's rules. Benefit formulas are identical for everyone regardless of sex. The gap traces back to lifetime earnings.

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, all of which lower the 35-year earnings average that feeds into the benefit formula. SSA data for December 2025 shows this pattern holds across the broader retired-worker population too, with men averaging $2,282 a month and women averaging $1,872, a gap of about $410.

It's also worth noting some women at this age receive benefits based on a spouse's earnings record rather than their own, through spousal or survivor benefits, which can work differently than a retired-worker benefit based purely on personal earnings.

Social Security's growing role late in retirement

By your late 80s, Social Security often isn't just a supplement anymore. It frequently 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 since. Investment portfolios may have been drawn down for years to cover expenses. Social Security, by contrast, is one of the few income sources that adjusts annually for inflation through the COLA.

That stability matters when managing withdrawals from retirement accounts. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional 401(k)s and IRAs, mandatory withdrawals that generally must begin at a certain age set by IRS rules, can push total taxable income higher in a given year. Combined with Social Security, that income may affect how much of a benefit is taxed.

Under current IRS and SSA rules, if combined income, which includes half of a Social Security benefit plus other income like RMDs, pensions, or investment earnings, exceeds $25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers, up to 50% of the benefit may be taxable. Above higher thresholds, up to 85% of the benefit can be taxed. These thresholds haven't been adjusted for inflation in decades, which means more retirees cross them every year as other income, including RMDs, grows.

Home equity adds another layer. Many retirees in their late 80s have paid off mortgages entirely, which can reduce monthly housing costs and make a fixed Social Security check stretch further. Others may be weighing options like downsizing or a reverse mortgage to supplement income, decisions that depend heavily on individual health, housing costs, and family circumstances.

What this comparison should (and shouldn't) tell you

Seeing that a benefit sits above or below the age-87 average doesn't mean anything is wrong, or that someone is missing out. It mostly reflects how long a person worked, what they earned, when they claimed, and broader economic conditions during their career, factors that are now locked in and can't be changed.

A more useful exercise is comparing total monthly income, Social Security plus any pension, investment withdrawals, or part-time earnings, against actual expenses, especially health care and long-term care costs, which tend to rise with age. 

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 on top of that. These premiums are often deducted directly from Social Security checks, which is worth factoring in when comparing net benefits.

Bottom line

The average Social Security benefit for 87-year-olds, $2,015.54 a month as of December 2025 according to the SSA, sits modestly below the broader retired-worker average of $2,071.30. The gap between men and women at this age, roughly $305 a month, reflects decades-old earnings differences rather than any difference in how senior benefits are calculated.

Rather than treating these averages as a scorecard, consider them a starting point for a more personal question: Does total income, from Social Security, savings, and any remaining assets, cover actual costs in retirement?

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