A 35-year work history
The Social Security Administration takes workers’ 35 highest-paid years of income into account when calculating their monthly retirement benefits. A zero is used for each year without earnings to compute average indexed monthly earnings and in each year only earnings up to the Social Security wage base are counted. So to claim the program’s maximum benefit, you need a minimum 35-year work history.
A 2024 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that workers expect to retire at a median age of 65. But current retirees had a median retirement age of 62.
Even so, given that many people enter the workforce around age 21 or 22, it’s feasible to put in 35 years of work and retire at 62. This even builds in a few years of time off, whether to raise children or take a career break.
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Read MoreA salary that meets or exceeds Social Security's wage cap for 35 years
A 35-year work history alone won’t score you Social Security’s maximum monthly benefit. You’ll also need 35 years of wages that meet or exceed the program’s annual wage cap.
Social Security limits the amount of wages that it taxes each year based on inflation and wage growth. In 2024, Social Security's wage cap was $168,600. In 2025, it's $176,100. So someone earning $176,100 or more in 2025, for example, would conceivably be eligible for the program’s maximum monthly benefit provided they have 34 additional years where their earnings met or exceeded the wage cap.
Most workers, however, don’t earn anywhere close to Social Security’s wage cap. During the third quarter of 2024, median weekly earnings among the U.S. labor force were $1,165, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Multiplied by 52, that brings the median annual wage in 2024 to $60,580, which is nowhere close to the $168,600 that would’ve been needed to hit Social Security’s wage cap.
A delayed Social Security claim
The amount of money Social Security pays you each month hinges not just on your work and income history, but also, your filing age. The youngest age to claim Social Security is 62, and you're eligible for your complete monthly benefit without a reduction at full retirement age (FRA), which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
However, for each year you delay your claim past FRA until age 70, your monthly Social Security benefit rises 8%. And so to be eligible for the program's largest possible monthly benefit, you need to be willing and able to hold off on filing until your 70th birthday.
For some people, this may not be possible. A November 2024 survey by Transamerica finds that 58% of current retirees left the workforce sooner than they'd initially planned. And among people in that boat, 46% retired due to health-related reasons, while 43% retired due to employment-related issues. It’s hard to delay Social Security, though, if you’re not able to continue working.
Beyond that, most people just plain don't take advantage of the option to delay Social Security until age 70. A 2024 survey by Schroders found that more than 9 in 10 (92%) of non-retired Americans don’t plan to wait until age 70 to take their social security benefits, even though 74% are aware that waiting longer earns higher payments. It also found that 43% of pre-retirees plan to claim Social Security prior to FRA, thereby reducing their monthly benefits rather than increasing them.
Most people don’t collect anywhere close to the program’s maximum monthly payday. But while $5,108 per month may be out of reach, you can do your part to increase the amount of money you’re eligible for by fighting for higher wages, extending your career to ensure a 35-year work history, and waiting as long as possible to sign up for benefits.
Remember, too, that freelance wages count toward your future Social Security benefits provided you report them and pay taxes on them (which you’re generally legally required to do anyway). So if you’re on the fence about getting a side hustle, know that it might not only put more money in your pocket in the near term, but also, set you up with a larger Social Security check in retirement.
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