The Maximum Social Security Benefit Explained

What is the maximum Social Security benefit

The most an individual who files a claim for Social Security retirement benefits in 2022 can receive per month is: $2,364 for someone who files at 62. $3,345 for someone who files at (66 and 2 months for people born in 1955, 66 and 4 months for people born in 1956). $4,194 for someone who files at age 70. (For context, the average Social Security retirement benefit as of May 2022 is $1,668 a month. The average is $1,362.) Who is eligible for the maximum benefit? People whose earnings equaled or exceeded Social Security’s — the amount of your earnings on which you pay — for at least 35 years of their working lives. The maximum taxable income in 2022 is $147,000. The figure is adjusted annually based on changes in national wage levels, and thus the maximum benefit changes each year.

Keep in mind

The maximum benefit is not to be confused with the . That’s the most a family can collectively receive from Social Security (including retirement, spousal, children’s, disability or survivor benefits) on one family member’s earnings record. Updated June 30, 2022

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