Here’s exactly what it takes to achieve the highest possible payments.
The average retired worker collects around $1,841 per month from Social Security, as of September 2023. However, it’s possible to receive far more.
In 2024, the maximum possible benefit amount will be $4,873 per month — up from $4,555 per month in 2023. For those who are depending heavily on Social Security in retirement, that money could be life-changing.
It’s not easy to reach the maximum benefit, though, and there are a few requirements you’ll need to meet. Here’s exactly what you’ll need to do to get there.
1. Work for at least 35 years
Your benefit amount is based on an average of your wages throughout the 35 years of your career that you earned the most. The Social Security Administration will then run that average through a formula to account for cost-of-living changes over the years, and the result is your basic benefit amount.
If you haven’t worked 35 full years before you begin claiming, you’ll have zeros added to your average to account for the time you were not working. To achieve the maximum payments, then, you’ll need to ensure you’ve worked for at least 35 years before you start taking Social Security.
2. Delay benefits until age 70
Your basic benefit amount based on your career earnings is what you’ll receive if you file at your full retirement age. This age will depend on your birth year, and it’s 67 years old for anyone born in 1960 or later.
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You can begin claiming as early as age 62, but by doing so, your benefits will be slashed by up to 30%. To receive as much as possible in benefits, you’ll need to delay claiming until age 70. At that age, you’ll receive your basic benefit amount plus a bonus of at least 24% per month.
The age you file for Social Security has perhaps the biggest impact on your benefit amount. In fact, even if you meet all the other requirements for the max payments, if you file at age 62, the most you can receive is $2,710 per month.
3. Consistently reach the wage cap
The wage cap is the highest income subject to Social Security taxes. The closer you can get to this limit, the more you’ll receive each month. Once you pass this limit, your income will no longer affect your benefit amount.
This cap changes from year to year to account for inflation. In 2023, it’s $160,200 per year. Next year, however, it will be going up to $168,600 per year.
To earn the maximum benefit, you’ll need to have been consistently reaching this limit throughout your career. For context, 35 years ago in 1988, the limit was $45,000 per year.
What to do if you’re off track
Reaching the maximum payments is incredibly difficult, especially when it comes to consistently reaching the wage cap. If you’re off track, you’re not alone — the max payments simply aren’t designed to be achievable by most workers.
That said, you don’t have to reach the maximum benefit to increase the size of your checks. If you can get closer to meeting any one of these three requirements, you can still earn larger payments each month.
For example, maybe you can’t reach the wage cap, but you can increase your income by a couple thousand dollars per year. That still will result in larger payments. Or perhaps you can’t delay benefits until age 70, but you can wait until your full retirement age to file. That, too, could boost your checks by hundreds of dollars per month.
Achieving the maximum $4,873 monthly benefit isn’t easy, and it’s OK if it’s out of reach. By taking steps to get as close as you can to each of these three requirements, you can still earn more than you might think from Social Security.
