August 3, 2019
Few people will receive the maximum possible benefit, but how high is the maximum? The short answer is that the maximum monthly Social Security benefit that an individual who files a claim in {{CURRENT_YEAR}} can receive is:
${{maximumMonthlyBenefit | number}} / month
In order to reach this high of a benefit, someone must have:
You can see what the per-year maximum taxable earnings are from the Social Security Adminstration's maximum taxble income table.
At other filing ages, the maximum possible benefit would be smaller:
The social security calculator will allow you to see the benefit at any starting age, for any earnings record.
The spouse of someone earning the maximum monthly benefit would also be eligible to earn a spousal benefit on the same record of as much as half of the primary earner's benefit.
In the case of the primary earner earning the maximum benefit of ${{maximumMonthlyBenefit | number}} / month, the spouse would also be eligible for an additional maximum benefit of ${{spouseMax | number}} / month. This would take the total benefit for this family to ${{familyMax | number}} / month. If the spouse also had maxed out his or her own record, the total benefit for the two maximum personal benefits is simply double a single personal benefit, which is ${{maximumMonthlyBenefit * 2 | number}} / month.
Should someone who had high taxable income work more years to increase their social security benefit? The answer is usually no. Benefits grow more slowly as they approach the maximum. For example, imagine the same person earned fewer than 35 years at the maximum income:
Look at your personal benefit data find out how it will compare to these maximums.
Ask other 'What If?' questions. The tool is absolutely free.