In 2024, the maximum monthly Social Security check is $4,873. No retiree can get checks above that amount, and a small minority of seniors receive payments equal to it.
There's a maximum Social Security benefit because benefits are based on a percentage of earnings -- but only earnings up to a certain level count. Anyone who earned the maximum countable earnings for a full 35 years can max out their benefit -- as long as they also wait to claim their checks until 70.
Here's what you'd need to earn in order to be among the elite few with a $58,476 annual income from Social Security.
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Your earnings must equal or exceed the wage base limit
Social Security benefits equal a percentage of inflation-adjusted earnings in the 35 years your income was highest. A wage base limit applies each year, though. Earnings above that threshold aren't subject to Social Security tax, and are also not included in the benefits calculation formula.
The wage base limit is intended to ensure very high earners don't get paid tens of thousands a month in Social Security benefits. After all, retirement checks replace about 40% of earnings, and if you were making $1 million a year (or $83,333 a month), you'd get a monthly benefit of around $33,333 if there was no cap. The government doesn't want to be paying out this much money.
The wage base limit adjusts each year based on wage growth. In 2024, it's $168,600. Here's what it was for the last few years:
- 2023: $160,200
- 2022: $147,000
- 2021: $142,800
- 2020: $137,700
If your earnings equaled or exceeded this amount, you earned the maximum countable income and could be on track for the highest possible Social Security check.
Remember, though, that the Social Security Administration considers 35 years of earnings. So you'd have to earn the inflation-adjusted equivalent of these amounts for at least 35 years of your working life to get the max check.
You'll have to wait to claim your benefits too
Earning a high salary is just the start. That gets you on track to maxing out your standard benefit. If you want the highest monthly income of all from Social Security, you also have to take your standard benefit and grow it by waiting to claim it until after your full retirement age (FRA).
FRA is based on birth year and could be as late as 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Each month you delay your benefits claim beyond FRA will increase your standard Social Security check by 2/3 of 1% per month.
You can earn delayed retirement credits until 70, so waiting to claim your check until then will allow you to take your primary insurance amount and max it out. If you had the max standard benefit based on your salary and waited until 70 to claim your first Social Security payment, you could get $4,873 a month in 2024.
If you fall short in terms of earnings or claim even a month early, the highest benefit will be off the table. Of course, increasing income and delaying your claim can still pay off for you in terms of making your Social Security checks bigger, but you won't see a $4,873 monthly payment as a retiree.
