The average retiree collects about $2,000 per month from Social Security, but you could collect a lot more. While there are several factors that go into calculating the size of your monthly benefit, the age at which you decide to claim benefits may be one of the most important.
The most popular claiming age is the first year of eligibility for most retirees: 62. The next most popular claiming age is full retirement age. But the benefits you can receive at age 62 or full retirement age are dwarfed by those you could receive if you wait until 70. The discrepancy becomes especially clear if you're in line to receive the maximum possible benefit from Social Security.
Getting the biggest possible benefit is no easy feat. Here's what you'll need to do and how much you could receive by maxing out Social Security at 62, 67, and 70.
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Do you qualify for the maximum possible benefit?
If you want to receive the maximum possible benefit from Social Security, you'll need to earn a high salary for a long time.
When the government calculates your monthly benefits, it looks at your entire earnings history. Every year of earnings from before you reached age 60 gets adjusted for inflation based on increases in wages between when you earned that money and the year you turned 60. Any earnings after 60 don't receive an inflation adjustment , but many high-earners will earn raises that outpace inflation. Maintaining a high salary in your 60s is essential to maximizing Social Security.
After adjusting your earnings, the government selects the 35 highest-earning years from your career and finds the monthly average earnings from all of them. That number gets plugged into the Social Security benefits formula, which spits out your primary insurance amount, or PIA.
The PIA is the amount you'll receive if you apply for benefits the month you reach full retirement age. That's age 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. If you claim before your full retirement age, you'll see a reduction in your monthly benefit. Alternatively, you could wait to claim benefits and receive a slight boost for each month you delay up until age 70 (when benefits max out).
But there's one tiny detail about calculating your average earnings that can go overlooked. Not everything you earn always counts toward Social Security. That's because there's a cap on how much of your income is subject to Social Security taxes. And if you don't pay taxes on the income, the government doesn't count it for purposes of calculating your retirement benefits. As a result, we end up with a maximum possible Social Security benefit.
The cap on earnings that count toward Social Security is called the contribution and benefit base. The Social Security Administration adjusts the number for average national increases in wages every year . For 2025, it's $176,100. And if you want the maximum possible benefit, you'll need to have earned at or above the contribution and benefit base for a long time. Remember: The government averages your 35 highest earning years.
If you have at least 35 years of earnings at or above the threshold, you may be in line for the maximum possible benefit in retirement. But there's still a big difference between claiming as soon as possible at age 62 and waiting until full retirement or age 70.
Here's the maximum possible Social Security benefit at ages 62, 67, and 70
As mentioned, your age when you claim your benefits can have an even bigger impact than the amount you earn during your career. Claiming as early as 62 can reduce your benefit by up to 30% of your primary insurance amount. On the other hand, those waiting until age 70 can boost their benefits by up to 30.67% (for retirees born in 1955). Someone with a full retirement age of 67 (born in 1960 or later) can still receive a 24% boost by waiting until age 70.
As a result, the maximum possible benefit at each of the above ages is dramatically different.
| Retirement Age | 62 | 67 | 70 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum possible benefit | $2,831 | $4,043 | $5,108 |
Data source: Social Security Administration.
As you can see, the maximum possible benefit for age 62 might be disappointing for someone who earned a high salary throughout their career. Considering the average retiree collects $2,000, you might expect more from Social Security if you're earning well into six-figure territory every year. But those high earners who waited to retire until age 70 are receiving a monthly check that's about 80% higher than their 62-year-old counterparts.
The difference in maximum possible payouts is slightly different than what individuals can expect to gain from delaying their own retirement. There are two factors at play. First, retirees born in 1955 reached full retirement age at 66 and 2 months. Those reaching 62 this year won't reach full retirement age until 67. As a result, there's a bigger discount on their PIA for claiming early while the 70-year-olds receive a bigger boost for delaying.
Offsetting that are annual changes in the Social Security bend points, which typically favor younger retirees, giving them a bigger benefit. An individual can expect to receive about 77% more from Social Security by waiting until age 70 versus claiming at 62.
Should you claim early, wait until full retirement age, or delay?
If you're earning enough to receive the maximum possible Social Security benefit in retirement, you're likely in a great position to delay claiming as long as possible. More often than not, that will be the best way to optimize your finances in retirement and receive the most from Social Security over your lifetime.
If you're in average health, life expectancy data shows that you'll receive more from Social Security by delaying until 70 than by collecting at any other age. And if you have a spouse, you'll want to consider their life expectancy as well because they'll be eligible for survivors benefits if you pass away before them.
Survivors benefits allow spouses to collect the higher benefit between themselves and the deceased partner. That factor typically tilts the math heavily in favor of waiting until age 70.
Waiting until 70 comes with added benefits for high earners, who usually have significant retirement savings as well. Your early retirement years are some of the most opportune times to position your retirement accounts to minimize taxes in the long run. Once you start collecting Social Security, avoiding taxes becomes much more difficult.
For many high earners in their early 60s, it's worth sitting down with a financial planner to determine which tasks to take care of before starting Social Security. In most cases, you'll find it makes a lot of sense for the highest earners to wait until 70 to collect.
