Want to max out your eventual Social Security retirement income? Although the program was never intended to be your sole source of retirement funds, there's certainly every reason to make the most of the program. Indeed, this year a handful of individuals are cashing monthly Social Security checks worth a surprisingly big $4,873. Not bad.

So how can you also receive this same maximum benefit when you're ready to claim and collect? Keep reading. As you'll see, it might be challenging, but it's not complicated.

1. Work for 35 years

You probably already know that the more you put into the Social Security pool while you're working (in the form of FICA taxes) the more you get back once you retire.

The calculation of your future benefits, however, isn't just a simple matter of figuring out your total lifetime earnings and then proportionally paying that money back to you. There's a specific formula used to figure out the future amount of your retirement benefits, and one key aspect of the formula is the total number of years you worked. The Social Security Administration uses your highest-earning 35 years' worth of employment to calculate your eventual monthly benefit.

Don't panic if you already know you're not going to be working for 35 years! Most people don't. While that will prevent you from collecting the maximum amount of $4,873 every month, you'll still do well enough. The Social Security Administration simply uses income of $0 for any years less than 35 that you didn't work when it's calculating your inflation-adjusted average annual income.

2. Earn a great salary

Working for a full 35 years, however, still doesn't inherently guarantee you'll get monthly payments of $4,873 from Social Security. You must also earn a minimum amount of taxable income -- a lot of it, in fact -- every year for that 35 years.

And this minimum changes every year, adjusted upward in step with inflation and the Social Security fund's predicted future needs. This year the minimum salary threshold figure is $168,600. Last year it was $160,200. Back in 2015 the number was $118,500. All the way back in 1995 it was $61,200, and going all the way back to 1990 the number was $51,300. You will have needed to reach or exceed each year's taxable-wage threshold for at least 35 years to secure $4,873 per month in Social Security retirement benefits now (or whatever the maximum payment is in the future).

Have you earned more than this minimum in some of your working years? You can take some solace in knowing you're not putting money into Social Security's pool of funds that you'll never get credit for. See, even if your income exceeds these historical thresholds in any given year, FICA taxes are only assessed on amounts up to these limits -- although your actual income tax figure certainly gets bigger!

3. Wait until you're 70 to claim benefits

Last but not least, if you're looking to score the biggest-possible monthly Social Security payment of $4,873, you must wait until you're 70 to claim benefits.

This doesn't mean you can't claim before you turn 70. The full retirement age (FRA) for people born before 1954 is 66, while for anyone born in or after 1960 it's 67. (For people born in between, the FRA is somewhere between 66 and 67.) Heck, you can begin collecting Social Security payments as early as 62.

You won't, however, be collecting anything close to $4,873 per month if you do so. The most anyone aged 66 or 67 (depending on their birthdate) is collecting from Social Security this year is $3,822 per month. The maximum payment that any 62-year-old is collecting this year is $2,710 per month, or about one-third less than the intended benefit had they waited until reaching their FRA to claim. Conversely, anyone waiting until they turn 70 to begin accepting Social Security payments will collect up to one-fourth more than they would have received by initiating benefit payments at their FRA.

Plan beyond Social Security

Don't sweat it if the maximum Social Security benefit payment is out of reach for you. Most people aren't getting anywhere near that much. The average monthly Social Security retirement check this year is $1,760.

You don't have to limit yourself to Social Security, though. By making your own retirement savings plan and sticking with it you can supplement your future Social Security benefit payments. In fact, even with just a modest amount of discipline exercised during your working years you can secure retirement income that exceeds your future Social Security income. The trick is simply starting somewhere even if that start is seemingly small. It's much easier to build on a retirement savings plan once it's already in place.