Is the max Social Security benefit a fantasy for most Americans in 2023?

What's the highest possible Social Security retirement benefit? The Social Security Administration (SSA) has an answer to that question. For 2023, it's $4,555 per month.

For many Americans, that amount would go a long way toward ensuring a comfortable retirement. But is the $4,555 max Social Security benefit really a fantasy?

What does it take to hit the max?

You only have to complete three requirements to make the maximum Social Security retirement benefit. Let's start with the easiest one: Work for 35 years.

Why 35 years? The SSA uses your highest-earning 35 years to calculate your retirement benefit.

Most Americans will be able to check off this box without any problem. It's important to note, though, that some jobs aren't eligible for Social Security benefits (notably including some state, county and municipal jobs). As a result, any years working in those jobs won't count toward the 35 years of earnings that SSA uses in its benefits calculation.

Next is a requirement that could be more challenging for some. To hit the max Social Security benefit, you'll need to delay collecting retirement benefits until age 70. If you hoped to retire early and still make the highest benefit possible, you're out of luck.

But the third requirement is the hardest of all. You'll need to earn the maximum taxable amount in each of the 35 years used in the calculation of your Social Security retirement benefit. The following table shows the maximum taxable amount going back 50 years. If any of your highest-earning 35 years falls short of these amounts, you won't make the maximum $4,555 per month.

Data source: Social Security Administration. Table by author.

It's possible, but not probable.

It's possible to make the $4,555 max Social Security benefit. It's also possible to bowl a perfect game, hit a hole-in-one in golf, and get Wordle on the first try. But it's not probable that you'll do any of them.

A recent survey conducted by asset management company Schroders found that only 10% of Americans who haven't retired yet plan to wait until age 70 to collect Social Security benefits. This number is similar to the percentage of retirees last year who waited until age 70 or later to receive retirement benefits.

The SSA estimates that nearly 20% of current and future Social Security beneficiaries will earn more than the taxable maximum in at least one year. However, only around 6% of covered workers earn more than the taxable maximum in any given year. There isn't any readily available data about how many people have achieved this for 35 years, but it's probably fair to assume that the percentage is much lower.

Here's what isn't a fantasy.

Unfortunately, making the maximum Social Security retirement benefit is only a fantasy for many Americans. What isn't a fantasy, though, is boosting your benefit as much as possible.

The most straightforward way to do this is to hold off on receiving benefits until age 70. This will increase your monthly benefit by 24%, compared to collecting benefits at a full retirement age of 67. It could also help by replacing lower-earning years from earlier in your career with higher-earning years later in your career.

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