In May, nearly 66.7 million Americans took home a Social Security benefit, 49.4 million of which are retired workers. The average monthly check doled out to these retirees by the Social Security Administration was $1,836.06, which equates to an annual payout of just over $22,000.
A Social Security retired-worker benefit is available to any American citizen who earns the requisite 40 lifetime work credits. This includes the current President of the United States, Joe Biden, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
President Biden speaking with reporters. Image source: Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz.
Here's exactly how much Joe Biden took home from Social Security each month in 2022
For the past 50 years, it's been somewhat of an unwritten tradition for presidential candidates and sitting presidents to make their federal tax returns public. Since Joe Biden has run for the Democratic presidential nomination on a few occasions, the American public has access to his past 25 years of tax returns. Note, Joe Biden files his tax returns jointly with his wife.
The public doesn't have to dig much to see how much the Bidens netted in Social Security income for the 2022 tax year. On page 1 of the couple's Form 1040, line 6a shows the Bidens received $58,465 in Social Security benefits, or approximately $4,872 each month.
But the story doesn't end there. The Bidens' joint tax filing also includes a Social Security benefits worksheet that breaks out their individual payouts. For those curious, this is on slide 23 of the president's public tax filing.
In 2022, Joe Biden took home $38,981, which works out to a monthly check of $3,248.42, while Jill Biden received $19,484, or $1,623.67 per month. You'll note that Jill Biden's monthly benefit is effectively half that of her husband, which means she's almost certainly receiving spousal benefits, which cap at 50% of a spouse's monthly payout.
Put another way, Joe Biden's Social Security check in 2022 was 77% higher than what the average retired worker brought home in May 2023.
High earners face a Social Security benefit cap
President Biden collecting $3,248 individually each month -- and $4,872 collectively with his wife -- is a sizable amount of money to receive from America's top retirement program. But when compared to the Bidens' annual earnings, it's not a particularly meaningful income source.
Based on the 25 years of publicly available federal tax filings from the Bidens, the duo never earned less than $210,797 in adjusted gross income (AGI) in a year. In fact, there were two years (2017 and 2018, respectively) where paid speaking events and book deals lifted the Bidens' reported AGI to $11.03 million and $4.58 million.
However, the Social Security program has an interesting quirk that awaits high earners like the Bidens.
The four factors used to determine how much an eligible beneficiary will receive each month from Social Security are their work history, earnings history, full retirement age, and claiming age.
For most workers, the Social Security Administration will take their 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years into account when calculating their monthly check. But for high earners who regularly surpass the maximum taxable earnings cap ($160,200 in 2023) in a given year, their monthly benefit check is capped at full retirement age.
Last year, the biggest retired-worker monthly benefit check possible at full retirement age was $3,345. In 2023, it's increased to $3,627 per month. The point is that no matter how much the Bidens earn annually, the Social Security program naturally caps how much they can receive.
Image source: Getty Images.
Surprise! Your Social Security benefits can be taxed
Something else worth pointing out that seems to catch a lot of folks by surprise when they retire and begin receiving their Social Security benefit is that these benefits may be taxable at the federal and/or state level.
In 1983, Social Security's asset reserves were on the verge of being exhausted, which would have necessitated a permanent reduction in benefits if lawmakers didn't come together and implement changes to the program. The Amendments of 1983 represent the last major bipartisan overhaul of the Social Security program. They introduced a slew of changes, including a gradual increase to the full retirement age and payroll tax rate, as well as the introduction of the taxation of benefits.
Beginning in 1984, any individual whose AGI, plus nontaxable interest, plus one-half of their Social Security benefits, surpassed $25,000 would see up to 50% of their benefits exposed to the ordinary federal income tax rate. For couples, this income threshold was set at $32,000.
In 1993, under the Clinton administration, a second tier of taxation was added. Using the same formula as above, up to 85% of benefits became taxable at the federal level for individual filers above $34,000, and $44,000 for couples filing jointly.
Because the Bidens generate well above this $44,000 income threshold for married couples filing jointly, $49,695 (85%) of their combined $58,465 in Social Security benefits was subject to federal taxation in 2022.
The real kicker with the taxation of benefits is that the income thresholds passed into law in 1983 and 1993 have never been adjusted for inflation. As cost-of-living adjustments and inflation naturally push Social Security checks higher over time, more and more seniors are being exposed to this tax.
