As of 2024, the maximum Social Security benefit any retired worker can get based on the current formula is $4,873 per month. This translates to about $58,500 per year in inflation-protected retirement income.
However, actually getting the maximum possible benefit requires a very specific and rare combination of factors. Here are the three things you would need to do in order to claim a $4,873 monthly Social Security benefit, and why most people don't.
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Step 1: Work for 35 years or more in Social Security covered employment
The first step is the easiest. To max out Social Security benefits , you need to work for a minimum of 35 years in jobs that are covered by the program (pretty much every U.S.-based employment or self-employment work qualifies, with very limited exceptions).
Unlike many other retirement plans, which consider only a few years' worth of your earnings, Social Security considers your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation.
Step 2: Earn more than the taxable maximum in at least 35 of those years
When determining your monthly benefit, the Social Security Administration (SSA) looks at each year you earned money from covered employment and applies an inflation adjustment to it. The highest 35 years are then considered, averaged, and divided by 12 to produce your average indexed monthly earnings, or AIME.
Each year, there is a maximum taxable amount of wages for Social Security purposes, which increases with inflation over time. To get the highest possible benefit, you would need to earn more than this amount in at least 35 different years.
In 2023, the maximum taxable earnings for Social Security (also often referred to as the "wage base") was $160,200. In 2013, it was $113,700, and in 2003, it was $87,000, just to give you a few reference points.
Step 3: Wait until you're 70 to start collecting benefits
Those who qualify can choose to apply for Social Security at any point between the ages of 62 and 70. Full retirement age is 67 for qualified beneficiaries born in 1960 or later.
If you claim Social Security early, your benefits will be permanently reduced. On the other hand, if you wait until after your full retirement age to start collecting, your benefit will be permanently increased . If your full retirement age is 67 and you wait until 70 to apply, you'll get a very significant 24% increase in your benefit amount.
In other words, if you're entitled to a $2,000 monthly payment at your full retirement age of 67, waiting until 70 would get you $2,480.
A rare trifecta that might not be necessary (or practical) for you
The first step is commonly achieved. Think about it this way: The average person starts working sometime between the ages of 18 and 25, depending on how many years are spent in school. The earliest you can start collecting Social Security is 62, so this leaves significantly more than 35 years in the typical working lifetime.
The other two steps to receiving the maximum Social Security benefit don't happen nearly as often.
According to the SSA's latest data, only about 20% of covered workers earn more than the taxable maximum in any one year. Each year, only about 6% of covered workers exceed the threshold. So it's rare for someone to do it in 35 individual years.
On the age factor, only about 10% of Americans plan to wait until 70 to start collecting their benefits. Fewer actually do. Some are forced to retire earlier than planned, often for health-related reasons.
The bottom line is that receiving the maximum possible benefit requires a combination of two things that each have a single-digit probability of any given person actually achieving. But the point isn't that you need to chase the maximum Social Security benefit -- it's that by knowing how the program works, you'll be in the best position to make decisions to maximize your own benefit.
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