As of December 2025, the average Social Security benefit among women is $1,872.43 per month, while men receive an average of $2,282.28, leaving a monthly gap of $409.85, according to the Social Security Administration. This disparity persists across all age groups and widens further among older retirees, reflecting long-standing differences in lifetime earnings and time spent in the paid workforce.
Lower average monthly checks for women must also stretch across a longer expected retirement span. The Social Security Administration estimates that a woman turning 65 can expect to live roughly 21 more years, compared to about 18 more years for a 65-year-old man.
The Mechanics of the Benefit Formula
The Social Security Administration calculates basic retirement checks using a uniform primary insurance amount formula based on a worker’s 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. Because the calculation rules apply equally, the resulting monthly gap stems entirely from individual earnings histories and claiming patterns rather than formulaic bias.
Full retirement age stands at 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, while workers who claim early at age 62 face reductions of up to 30%. Conversely, those who delay claims past full retirement age earn delayed retirement credits of 8% per year until age 70.
How the Disparity Widens at Age 70
The gender gap widens significantly by age 70, which marks the absolute ceiling for monthly check growth because delayed retirement credits stop accruing. Yahoo Finance reported that men at age 70 receive an average of $2,529.62 per month, whereas women receive an average of $2,024.08, creating a gap of $505.54. As of December 2025, the average Social Security benefit for people aged 70 is $2,274.68 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Social Security Retirement Benefits Reach 57.9 Million People
Broader program data from Diario AS shows that approximately 57.9 million people received Social Security retirement benefits in September 2026, including retired workers alongside eligible spouses and children. For retired workers specifically, the average benefit was $2,088.79 per month.
Diario AS noted that the maximum retirement benefit for a worker claiming at age 70 in 2026 reached $5,181 per month, provided they met the maximum taxable earnings limit—set at $184,500 for that year—across 35 career years.
Household Reliance Across Income Brackets
Household reliance on these monthly checks varies sharply by income level. MoneyLion reported that for lower-income retirees, Social Security forms the primary financial backbone, accounting for approximately 82.6% of total income for people aged 65 and older in the lowest household income distribution tier, based on a 2025 report from the Congressional Research Service.
For middle-income households, Social Security accounts for roughly 46.1% of total income. By contrast, wealthy retirees rely far less on the program, with asset income such as interest, dividends, and rental revenue covering the vast majority of their expenses.
Upcoming Adjustments for 2027
To help offset rising costs, a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment will take effect in 2027, which will add roughly $73 per month to the average benefit for a 70-year-old woman and about $82 per month to the overall age-70 average.