This Was the Average Social Security Benefit in 1994, and Here's What It Is Now

It's fun to travel in the Wayback Machine. Consider, for example, that 30 years ago, in 1994, a gallon of gas cost around $1.11. More recently, it's averaged $3.03 in the U.S. A new house cost around $155,000 back then, and single-family homes recently sold for a median price of $406,000.

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Social Security benefits also change over time, thanks to cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). The table below shows how average benefits have changed:

Source: Data source: Social Security Administration, 2023 Annual Statistical Supplement.
*As of January 2024.
**As of November 2024.

If those numbers seem a bit small, they are. The recent average monthly benefit of $1,925 amounts to only around $23,000 annually. (1994's $697 was $8,364 annually!) Social Security was never intended to fully replace your pre-retirement income. That's why it's smart to set up multiple income streams in retirement. These can include income from dividend-paying stocks, rent checks from tenants in properties you own, annuity payments, interest from bonds, and so on.

Note, too, that there are multiple ways to increase your Social Security benefits, such as delaying claiming them. For millions of people, the best strategy is to wait until age 70.

Meanwhile, if your earnings over your working life were above average, your benefit checks will be above average, too, and bigger than the figures above. For 2025, the maximum monthly check will be $5,108 (more than $61,000 annually) -- though it's hard to qualify for that payout.

Another smart move is setting up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administration (SSA) website, where you'll be able to see the latest estimates of your future benefits based on the SSA's records of your earnings. Having that information can help as you plan your retirement, and figure out how much income you need to set up for yourself for retirement.