Getting the most you can out of Social Security can be a great goal for many retirees. The government program provides the backbone for many seniors' budgets, often supplementing private retirement savings.
The average Social Security retirement benefit in November was $1,925.46. But those who do everything they can to maximize their earnings during their career could end up with a monthly check as high as $5,108 as soon as next month.
But only a tiny handful of Social Security beneficiaries will receive that max benefit. In fact, it might not even be a possibility for most readers. Read on to see if you qualify for Social Security's biggest possible paycheck in 2025.
Image source: Getty Images.
How the government calculates your Social Security benefit
Before we dive into the details of who exactly will qualify for the maximum Social Security benefit, it's important to understand how the government calculates each individual's monthly check. There are only three factors that ultimately determine how big your retirement check is:
- Your earnings history
- When you were born
- When you claim benefits
When it's time to calculate your monthly benefit, the Social Security Administration looks at all your earnings from your career. Any earnings from before the year you turned 60 are adjusted upward for wage inflation, while any earnings after age 60 don't get an adjustment. It then selects the 35 highest years and calculates your average monthly earnings.
The next step is to plug your average earnings into the Social Security benefits formula (which gets adjusted based on the year you were born) to determine your primary insurance amount. That's the amount you'll receive if you apply to start receiving benefits the month you reach your full retirement age.
Full retirement age is determined by the year you were born. Those born between 1943 and 1954 reached full retirement age at 66. Your full retirement age increases by two months for each year you were born after 1954 until maxing out at age 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
Claiming benefits before your full retirement age results in a monthly check less than your primary insurance amount. But you can also wait until after your full retirement age to claim benefits too. Every month you wait will increase your monthly check by 2/3 of a percentage point until it maxes out at age 70. So, someone born in 1955 who turns 70 in 2025 will get a boost of more than 30% if they wait to until the month they turn 70 next year to claim.
How much do you have to earn to maximize Social Security?
As mentioned, your earnings history will have a significant impact on your monthly benefit when it comes time to retire and claim Social Security.
But not every penny you earn will count toward your average earnings. That's because there's a cap on the amount you have to pay Social Security taxes on each year. Any earnings above that cap don't incur Social Security taxes, but they also don't count toward your earnings history.
Here's the maximum taxable earnings for each of the last 50 years.
| Year | Earnings | Year | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | $15,300 | 2001 | $80,400 |
| 1977 | $16,500 | 2002 | $84,900 |
| 1978 | $17,700 | 2003 | $87,000 |
| 1979 | $22,900 | 2004 | $87,900 |
| 1980 | $25,900 | 2005 | $90,000 |
| 1981 | $29,700 | 2006 | $94,200 |
| 1982 | $32,400 | 2007 | $97,500 |
| 1983 | $35,700 | 2008 | $102,000 |
| 1984 | $37,800 | 2009 | $106,800 |
| 1985 | $39,600 | 2010 | $106,800 |
| 1986 | $42,000 | 2011 | $106,800 |
| 1987 | $43,800 | 2012 | $110,100 |
| 1988 | $45,000 | 2013 | $113,700 |
| 1989 | $48,000 | 2014 | $117,000 |
| 1990 | $51,300 | 2015 | $118,500 |
| 1991 | $53,400 | 2016 | $118,500 |
| 1992 | $55,500 | 2017 | $127,200 |
| 1993 | $57,600 | 2018 | $128,400 |
| 1994 | $60,600 | 2019 | $132,900 |
| 1995 | $61,200 | 2020 | $137,700 |
| 1996 | $62,700 | 2021 | $142,800 |
| 1997 | $65,400 | 2022 | $147,000 |
| 1998 | $68,400 | 2023 | $160,200 |
| 1999 | $72,600 | 2024 | $168,600 |
| 2000 | $76,200 | 2025 | $176,100 |
Data source: Social Security Administration.
Earning above the maximum taxable earnings for at least 35 years of your career will put you in line for a very sizable Social Security check. But if you want to receive the maximum possible $5,108 in 2025, there are a few other important details.
Narrowing down exactly who will qualify for the $5,108 monthly benefit
Your earnings might qualify you for a very large Social Security benefit, but if you want the maximum amount, you'll need to optimize every factor that goes into determining your monthly check.
When you were born and when you retire might not have as big of an impact on your Social Security benefit as your earnings history, but they still play a significant role here. Due to the slight changes in the Social Security benefits formula and inflation adjustments based around when a beneficiary turns 60, the maximum possible benefit for 2025 is only available to someone born in 1955. Importantly, that person will also have to wait to claim until the month they turn 70, maxing out the potential increase in benefits from delaying retirement.
Additionally, the fact the Social Security Administration stops adjusting past earnings for inflation once you reach age 60 plays an important role. That means a person who wants to maximize their potential Social Security benefits will have to have worked throughout their 60s, maxing out their taxable earnings each year. On top of those 10 years of earnings, someone in line to receive the maximum Social Security benefit will have earned above the maximum taxable earnings in most years dating all the way back to 1986.
The above requirements will eliminate nearly everyone from receiving the maximum possible $5,108 monthly benefit.
The best thing for most people is to consider how Social Security fits into their retirement plan and determine what they should do to get what they need from the program. Whether you need to delay retirement for a few years to increase your average earnings and grow your benefit in the meantime, or if you can retire now and wait to claim until later, there are plenty of strategies to take with Social Security. Trying to qualify for a theoretical maximum might not be the best decision for your lifestyle, and you might not even need to depending on your financial situation.
