The average retired worker gets about $2,000 per month from Social Security, as of the latest data. However, it's possible to get more -- much more.
The maximum possible Social Security benefit for someone who starts collecting benefits in 2025 is $5,108 per month. This is $61,296 in inflation-protected retirement income annually.
However, to get Social Security's biggest paycheck of $5,108 per month, a couple of very specific qualifications must be met. You'll need to have earned a certain level of income throughout your career and must wait as long as possible to start collecting benefits.
Below, I'll look at the specific income and age you'll need to get the highest Social Security benefit.
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Income: 35 years of high earnings
Unlike many private pensions and other retirement plans, your Social Security benefit isn't just based on a few of your highest-earning years. The Social Security Administration (SSA) takes every year of your lifetime earned income, up to a certain annual limit, and indexes them for inflation. It then uses your 35 highest-earning years to determine your primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the benefit you'll initially get at full retirement age.
How do you get the maximum benefit? In a nutshell, you'll need to earn more than the annual Social Security taxable maximum -- technically referred to as the "contribution and benefit base" -- in 35 different years.
For context, the maximum Social Security earnings in 2025 is $176,000, and this amount changes every year to keep up with average wage growth.
Age: Wait as long as possible
American workers who qualify for Social Security benefits can choose to start collecting them as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. Technically, you can wait as long as you want, but there's no benefit to waiting beyond 70.
Full retirement age for Social Security purposes is 67 years old for Americans born in 1960 or later and slightly lower for those born earlier. People reaching 70 in 2025 were born in 1955 and have a full retirement age of 66 years and two months.
In simple terms, the longer you wait to claim Social Security, the larger your monthly benefit checks will be.
If you claim before your full retirement age, your Social Security benefit will be permanently reduced by 6.67% for every year early, up to three years, and 5% per year beyond that. On the other hand, if you wait beyond full retirement age, your benefit will be permanently increased by 8% for every year you wait, until a maximum of age 70.
To get the absolute maximum benefit, the following two things need to be true:
- You've earned more than the Social Security contribution and benefit base in 35 separate years while working in Social Security-covered employment.
- You claim Social Security no earlier than age 70.
Will you qualify for the maximum?
The overwhelming majority of retired workers don't qualify for the maximum possible Social Security benefit. Only about 6% of U.S. workers earn more than the Social Security taxable maximum in any given year, and a far lower percentage achieve it in 35 different years. Depending on what study you're looking at, only 8% of Social Security beneficiaries wait until 70 to start collecting.
As you might imagine, very few people have both the maximum income in 35 years and also choose to wait until 70 to claim their benefit. But even if you don't qualify for the absolute maximum benefit, knowing how income and claiming age impact Social Security can help you make the best Social Security decisions for you and your family.
