Retirement Social Security

Here’s What the Average Social Security Benefit Will Be in 2026 - and Why It Matters

Is your increase above or below average?

By Lee Huffman

Edited by Laura Hohenstein

Updated Jan. 28, 2026

If you're planning your retirement income or already living on Social Security, understanding the average Social Security benefit can help you plan out your senior years. The average Social Security benefit in 2026 increased to $2,071 after a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Understanding why your benefits differ from this average and how the COLA impacts your monthly checks removes some of the mystery behind your monthly income and how you can set yourself up for retirement.

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New 2026 benefit figures you should know

As of January 2026, Social Security beneficiaries saw their monthly payments increase by 2.8% due to the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). According to the official SSA 2026 COLA fact sheet, these are the average monthly benefits starting in January 2026:

All retired workers: $2,071 per month (up from $2,015 in 2025)
Aged couple, both receiving benefits: $3,208 per month (up from $3,120)
Aged widow(er) alone: $1,919 per month
All disabled workers: $1,630 per month

These figures represent actual benefit payments and reflect real-world claiming behavior across millions of beneficiaries. While these are average benefits, your actual benefits may vary significantly based on your work history, the age you claimed benefits, and other factors.

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Why Social Security gets adjusted each year

Social Security benefits are adjusted annually to help maintain purchasing power as prices rise. The COLA is calculated using changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), measured from the third quarter of one year to the third quarter of the next.

This adjustment matters because many retirees rely on Social Security as a steady source of income. Without annual COLAs, inflation would gradually reduce the real value of monthly benefits. The 2.8% COLA for 2026 followed a 2.5% increase in 2025 and was smaller than the unusually large adjustments seen earlier in the decade.

How Social Security benefits are calculated

While national averages are useful, most people never receive this amount, so using it for retirement planning isn't a good idea. Your actual benefits are based entirely on your personal earnings record and the age at which you claim benefits. Here's how the calculation works.

Average indexed monthly earnings (AIME)

The SSA reviews your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusts them for wage inflation, and averages them into a monthly figure. If you worked fewer than 35 years, those years are marked as zero income, which can dramatically lower your benefit. Delaying retirement or taking on part-time work replaces those zeroes with higher incomes and boosts your monthly Social Security checks.

Primary insurance amount (PIA)

Your AIME is applied to a formula with bend points that replace a higher percentage of lower earnings and a smaller percentage of higher earnings. This structure makes Social Security more progressive to assist lower-income workers.

Claiming age adjustments

Your PIA assumes you claim benefits at full retirement age, which ranges from 66 to 67 depending on your birth year. Claiming early permanently reduces your monthly benefit by up to 30%. For every year you wait to claim Social Security after full retirement age (up to age 70), your monthly benefit increases by roughly 8%.

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Why the average isn't your benefit

The average Social Security benefit blends the actual benefits of millions of retirees with their own unique work histories. Your benefit may fall above or below that figure depending on factors such as:

Lifetime earnings level
Number of years worked
Age at which benefits are claimed
Eligibility for spousal or survivor benefits
Marital and household status

For example, a dual-earner couple that delays claiming benefits may receive more than the average couple benefit, while someone with gaps in employment may receive less than the average retired worker amount.

Putting the average benefit in a real-world context

The average Social Security benefit provides an important source of income for retirees. However, it rarely covers all your monthly expenses in retirement on its own. With rising health care costs, interest rates, groceries, and utility bills, typical retiree household spending often exceeds Social Security benefits.

This is why many seniors rely on multiple sources of income, like retirement savings, part-time work, rental properties, and pensions, to pay their bills. Let alone cover occasional expenses, like travel, buying a new vehicle, home repairs, and unexpected emergencies.

How to use the average benefit when planning

The average benefit is most useful as a reference point, not a target. You can use it to:

Compare your SSA estimate with national averages for context.
Stress-test your retirement budget by assuming Social Security covers only part of your monthly expenses.
Evaluate claiming age decisions relative to the average benefit to see how your income may be affected by claiming early versus waiting.
Coordinate Social Security with savings, pensions, and other income sources to plan out your ideal retirement.

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Bottom line

The 2026 COLA update of 2.8% increases the average Social Security benefit to $2,071 per month. While the average provides a helpful perspective to retirement planning, your actual benefit depends on your earnings history, claiming age, and household situation. Using the average as a benchmark can help you make better-informed retirement income decisions.

For a better retirement plan approach, log into your my Social Security dashboard to forecast your actual retirement benefits based on your actual work history based on claiming early, full retirement age, or waiting until age 70.

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