In the U.S., the Social Security Administration (SSA) currently sends out just over 75 million payments each month, the vast majority of which go to recipients of Social Security retirement benefits. The amount paid out to retired workers depends on several factors, but the present average is a little more than $2,080 per month.
That is far less than the monthly maximum of $2,969 available in 2026 if you retire at 62, the minimum age to begin claiming retirement benefits. And it is under half as much as Social Security recipients can get if they wait until they’re 70 before claiming.
Hold off until your 60s are over, and you could be eligible for the top retirement benefit of over $5,000 per month.
What to know about the maximum Social Security benefit
The maximum monthly payment you can receive in Social Security retirement benefits depends on a calculation the SSA performs when you file your claim. The agency states that “retirement benefits depend on your earnings history, the age you retire, and the year you retire.”
Before you can file a retirement benefit claim you must have earned 40 ‘credits’, or quarters of work, the equivalent of ten consecutive years. However, to get the maximum at any eligible retirement age, 62 or older, your Social Security taxable income must be equal to or exceed the Social Security tax cap during at least 35 years of your working career.
The cap in 2026 is $184,000, income above this amount is not taxed by Social Security. This amount, like benefits, is adjusted for inflation each year based on the SSA’s Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).
Currently, the monthly maximum Social Security benefit that you can receive at the earliest retirement age, 62, as stated before, is $2,969 per month. However, claiming benefits early comes at a cost of your benefits being up to almost 30% lower than if you wait until Full Retirement Age.
For anyone born in 1960 or later, the full retirement age is reached at 67 years old. Those who have waited until full retirement age to begin claiming Social Security retirement benefits can potentially receive a maximum of $4,152 per month in 2026.
But those that wait a little longer can see their monthly benefits increase by up to 25 percent. Each year that you wait to claim Social Security retirement benefits, up to age 70, the government will increase the amount that you can receive. In 2026, the maximum monthly benefit that a person who waited until they were 70 years old can receive is $5,181 per month.
To get an idea of how much your Social Security check will be when you retire, use the agency’s Quick Calculator. For more information, visit the official SSA website.
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