In the first half of 2024, some retirees received total combined Social Security checks of $29,238. That’s a lot of money. In fact, it’s more than the average retiree will get from Social Security for the entire year.

The seniors who received such big payments are on track for close to $60,000 per year in retirement funds from the government, which should provide a pretty comfortable living standard — especially when combined with savings.

It’s not easy to get such a large payment from the Social Security Administration, though. In fact, very few seniors will see anywhere near that much money in their checks. Here’s what you’d need to do if you wanted to be one of them.

Earn a lot of money for at least 35 years

Seniors who received $29,238 in Social Security payments for the first half of 2024 did so only because they are entitled to the maximum-monthly benefit Social Security pays out. That maximum benefit is $4,873 per month. They are entitled to this much money because they earned the maximum-countable income for 35 years.

This sounds confusing, but here’s the basics:

  • Social Security benefits are based on a percentage of average income over the 35 years your earnings were highest (after your earnings throughout your career are adjusted for inflation).
  • All of your income is countable and subject to Social Security tax until you hit the wage-base limit. That’s a cap that is set each year based on inflation. Anyone who earns above the wage-base limit won’t pay Social Security taxes on the extra money and won’t have that income counted when their benefits are calculated.
  • The max benefit is available to people who earned at least the wage-base limit for 35 full years, so in each year included in their benefits formula, they have the highest-possible wage that their benefits will be based on.

The wage-base limit in 2024 is $168,600. If you earn the inflation-adjusted equivalent of that for 35 or more years, then you will max out your standard Social Security benefit by earning the highest-possible average wage used to calculate your monthly benefit.

Claim Social Security for the first time at 70

Your standard benefit is the amount available to you when you hit your full retirement age (FRA). That’s the designated age set by law when you do not get penalized for claiming Social Security benefits early or rewarded for claiming them late. FRA is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. For those born in 1959, it’s 66 and 12 months, and for those born in 1958, it’s 66 and 8 months.

If you have maxed out your standard benefit and claim it at 62, you won’t get the highest benefit available because you’d be taking that standard benefit and reducing it. You also can’t claim at FRA if you want the maximum-possible benefit. You must wait until 70 so you can grow your standard benefit with delayed-retirement credits. So to get a payment of $29,238 over the first half of the year, you’d have had to put off your first Social Security check until your 70th birthday.

For many people, doing these things isn’t possible. Still, you can increase your own standard benefit by earning as much as possible for at least 35 years of your career and by delaying Social Security as long as you can. Doing these things is worth it so your own Social Security income provides as much money as possible to help give you a comfortable life as a retiree.