Overview
- February payments go out on Feb. 3 to SSI recipients and those on the rolls before May 1997, then on Feb. 11, 18, and 25 based on birth dates, with March SSI arriving Feb. 27.
- Filing at 62 can permanently cut benefits by about 30% versus full retirement age, while delaying to 70 raises payments roughly 8% per year for a gain near 24%, with significant effects on spousal and survivor checks.
- The average retired-worker benefit in 2026 is about $2,071 per month, and top monthly amounts for maximum earners who delay are cited around $5,108 to $5,181 depending on start age and work history.
- Benefits are calculated from your 35 highest-earning years, so working longer or replacing zero and low-earning years can lift payments, though taxes can apply to up to 85% of benefits and pre-FRA earnings may trigger withholding.
- The SSA projects trust-fund reserves may be depleted in the early 2030s, leaving about 77% of scheduled benefits payable without congressional action, a risk advisers say should factor into strategies that can swing lifetime totals by hundreds of thousands of dollars.