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The Social Security Administration releases periodic updates about the benefits paid to beneficiaries. The following is a statistical snapshot of some of the more significant numbers from the February 2017 report:
Total Beneficiaries
There are currently 61 million individuals receiving Social Security benefits.
Retirement Benefits
Of those 61 million individuals, 44.5 million are beneficiaries receiving Retirement Benefits. 41.5 million are retired workers. 2.4 million are spouses of retired workers. 0.6 million are children of retired workers.
Survivor Benefits
There are 6 million beneficiaries receiving Survivor Benefits. 1.9 million are children of deceased workers. 3.7 million are non-disabled widow(er)s. 0.4 million fall into the Other category.
Disability Benefits
There are 10.6 million beneficiaries receiving Disability Benefits. 8.8 million anr disabled workers. 1.7 million are spouses and children of disabled workers.
Average Monthly Benefit
Average monthly benefit of all the above equals $1,250.
Total monthly benefits
The total monthly Social Security benefit payout is $76.4 billion.
In the audio blog I provide a bit more context for these numbers. Thanks for tuning in!
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