Born in the ’60s or ’70s? Your Social Security Check Could Be Bigger Than You Think

Now that they are at least 62 years old, people born between 1960 and 1970 can apply for Social Security income.

The SSA, on the other hand, says that the full retirement age (FRA) for this group is 67 . If payments are made to FRA early, the monthly amount will always be less.

If you apply for benefits at age 62, five years earlier, the check would be 30% less, equal to $1,400 a month if the full benefit at age 67 is $2,000, for example.

The government is making up for the higher cost of extending the payment time by cutting this benefit.

The money comes from an official fund set up by the government for these perks. The fund is fueled by employee contributions. The SSA recalculates the numbers by looking at the 35 years with the highest income and taking inflation into account.

If you decide to apply for Social Security now, benefits, both the highest and average amounts

It’s $1,976 a month on average in 2025, which is 2.5% more than the year before.

People who have saved more than the tax-free maximum income ($176,100 in 2025) can get up to $4,018 a month from their pension if they claim it when they turn 67.

The full amount is only available to people who have contributed for more than 35 years. Most of the workers get between $1,000 and $3,800 a month in benefits.

People whose Indexed Average Monthly Income (AIME) is smaller or who have received benefits for fewer years will have their benefits cut.

The SSA lets you delay getting benefits until you are 70 years old, which is an increase of 8% per year, after you hit Full Retirement Age (FRA). If someone is 67 years old and gets $2,000 a month, they might get $2,480 when they are 70.

This price hike can’t be undone, but payment has to be put off for three years.

The reward for waiting is waiting credits and delayed perks.

People born between 1960 and 1970 have traits of both the baby boomer generation and Generation X.

According to studies by experts, they usually make more money than older groups did, which may make their benefits better. But the numbers could go down because of things like illegal work or a lack of workers.

In 2025, more than 68 million people will be getting Social Security payments. Since the COLA went up by 2.5%, the monthly average went up by $49. However, recent inflation may have made this rise smaller.

The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) is used by SSA to change COLAs every year.

Using this list to compare things can help you understand better. Using a made-up person who thinks he will get $2,000 when he turns 67 as an example, his FRA would be:

Age You Start Benefits	Percentage of FRA Benefit	Monthly Payment
62	70% (Reduced by 30%)	$1,400
65	86.70%	$1,734
67 (Full Retirement Age)	100%	$2,000
70	124% (Delayed Retirement)	$2,480

Working after FRA doesn’t lower your benefits, and they might even go up if your current earnings are higher than they were in the past. The SSA looks at job records every year and, if needed, updates the AIME. This is good for people who make a lot of money and work longer.

What you need to do to be qualified for Social Security in 2025

In addition to age, you need 40 work points, which is the same as ten years of work, in order to get benefits. In 2025, you need $1,810 in income to get each credit, and this amount changes every year.

If someone doesn’t meet this requirement, they can’t retire, but they might be able to get help through other services.

To figure out benefits, the SSA only looks at taxable income that has been recorded. Work that isn’t recorded or money made outside of the official system isn’t taken into account.

Self-employed people must pay all taxes (12.4% for Social Security) in order to build up points.

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