3 Steps to Take to Collect the Max Monthly Social Security Check in Retirement

The maximum possible Social Security benefit for a retired worker who starts collecting benefits in 2025 is $5,108 per month. That's more than $61,000 in inflation-protected retirement income.

However, the average Social Security benefit for a retired worker is just over $2,000 per month. What separates those with the highest benefits from the average retiree? In this article, we'll discuss the three main boxes you'd need to check to get the maximum monthly Social Security check in retirement.

Step 1: Work in Social Security-covered employment for 35 years or more

As you can probably guess, most American workers check this box. The average American worker spends more than 40 years working, and most jobs (including self-employment) are covered under Social Security.

Image source: Getty Images.

To be sure, you can qualify for a Social Security benefit with just 10 years of work. But your initial benefit is based on your 35 highest-earning years, and zeros will be used in the calculation for any missing years.

Step 2: Max out the Social Security taxable earnings in all 35 years

Here's where the streak ends for most people. Every year, only a certain amount of earned income is subject to Social Security taxes. Technically known as the "contribution and benefit base," this is also the maximum amount of income each year that can be considered for benefit calculation purposes.

For context, the maximum amount of income subject to Social Security tax in 2025 is $176,100. This is adjusted to keep up with the national average wage growth each year. Here's how it looked in a few certain years to give you an idea of what you'd need to have earned to max out Social Security:

Data source: Social Security Administration (SSA).

Step 3: Wait as long as possible

If you're at or near retirement age, this is the part of the formula that is still within your control. Even if you max out the annual earnings in 35 years, that isn't enough to truly maximize your Social Security benefits. To get the maximum Social Security benefit possible, you'll need to wait until age 70 to start collecting your benefit.

It's well known that the earlier you claim Social Security, the lower your monthly payments will be. On the other hand, by waiting beyond full retirement age, your benefit will be permanently increased by 8% for every year you wait, up to age 70.

To illustrate this, consider that the most someone claiming Social Security at full retirement age in 2025 could get is $4,018 per month. And to be sure, this is more than double the overall average benefit for a retired worker. However, the maximum possible benefit for someone who waited until 70 is $5,108 per month -- nearly $1,100 more.

A very exclusive club

As you might imagine, very few retired workers get the maximum possible Social Security benefit. Only about 6% of American workers earn more than the taxable maximum in any given year, so you can imagine that a far smaller percentage achieves it in 35 separate years. Plus, only about 8% of beneficiaries wait until age 70 to start collecting, and that's across all income levels. So, the combination of 35 years of high earnings and a starting age of 70 is very rare.