Every year, more than 5 million people start receiving Social Security benefits, and one of these days, you -- and I -- will join their ranks. (Perhaps you're already receiving them!) It's reasonable, then, to be wondering just how much you can expect. You might even be wondering what benefits used to look like. Read on, for some answers.

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Let's start with current benefits. As of November, the average monthly Social Security retirement benefit was $1,925, or about $23,000 annually. If that seems surprisingly low, know these things:

The ways to beef up your benefits include increasing your income as much as possible while you're working and delaying starting to collect them -- until age 70, if possible. (For most of us, the best strategy is to wait until age 70.)

Source: Data source: Social Security Administration, 2023 Annual Statistical Supplement.

*As of November, 2024.

Clearly, benefits have been increasing substantially over decades. In fact, they've increased more than 10-fold in the 50 years since 1974! That's an underappreciated aspect of Social Security -- that it features inflation-linked adjustments every year, helping retirees preserve their money's purchasing power.

If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $22,924 more... each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies.

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