The average Social Security retirement benefit was $1,921.56 in September. While that may be a nice addition to your retirement savings, it’s barely enough to live on for most retirees. That’s especially true when you consider the rapidly rising costs of healthcare and housing.

But if you earn enough during your career, you can receive much more from Social Security when you retire. The maximum possible benefit in 2025 will be $5,108 per month, and that amount will increase every year going forward thanks to the annual cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, baked into Social Security.

The biggest hurdle to receiving that maximum benefit is earning a high enough salary over the course of your career. Only a small percentage of Americans will ever qualify for the maximum benefit. But if you want to become one of them, here’s how much you need to earn.

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The three factors that determine the size of your Social Security check

Before we get into how much you need to earn to maximize your Social Security benefits, it’s important to understand how the government calculates your retirement check. There are three factors that play a role in the calculation:

• Your earnings history
• When you were born
• When you apply for benefits

Once you apply for Social Security benefits, the government will look at your previous wages. It’s not just what you earned in your last year of service that is taken into account; it goes back to your entire career. It adjusts annual earnings based on wage inflation, linked to an index from the year you turned 60. Any income earned after age 60 will not be adjusted.

The Social Security Administration takes your 35 years of highest adjusted earnings and calculates your average monthly income. Then, that average is plugged into the Social Security benefits formula (which is affected by your date of birth) to determine your primary insurance amount, or PIA. That’s the amount you’ll receive if you apply for benefits in the month you reach full retirement age.

Your full retirement age is determined by the year in which you were born. Those born between 1943 and 1954 reached full retirement age at age 66. Your full retirement age increases by two months for each year you were born after 1954, until you reach the maximum at age 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.

If you claim benefits before your full retirement age, you will see a reduction in benefits compared to your PIA. But if you wait longer than your full retirement age, you’ll get more from Social Security for every month you delay until age 70. Someone born in 1955 has a full retirement age of 66 and two months, and can collect almost 31%. on top of their PIA by waiting until age 70 to make a claim.

Here you can see the salary you need to receive the maximum benefit

Most people pay Social Security taxes on their entire salary during their careers. But high earners may not pay taxes on every cent they earn. That’s because the Social Security Administration sets a limit on taxable wages each year.

Any amount earned above this limit will not be taxed, but it will also not count against your income history. This effectively sets the bar for the salary you must earn to qualify for the maximum potential pension benefit. If you can consistently earn above that threshold for at least 35 years, you’ll be in line for a very significant Social Security check.

The table below shows the maximum taxable income for each of the past 50 years.

Data source: Social Security Administration.

It is important to note that income limits will likely continue to rise over time due to inflation and improvements in living standards. If your salary does not increase further by the taxable income limit, you will no longer be eligible for the maximum possible benefit in the future.

You can’t just earn a high salary and expect to get the maximum benefit

However, earning a high salary is only part of the equation. When you were born and when you claim are also important factors.

First of all, the maximum possible benefit is only available to retirees who turn 70 in 2025. That’s because of the small changes in the benefit formula that are affected by the year you were born.

In addition, these retirees must wait until they reach age 70 in 2025 before they can claim benefits to receive the maximum.

Perhaps the biggest factor keeping retirees from receiving maximum benefits is that they have had to work through 2024 and earn more than the maximum taxable income in most years since 1986. and beyond) have a much greater impact on your final benefit amount for those earning above the maximum taxable income.

Given all these requirements, only a small handful of Social Security recipients will receive checks in the mail for $5,108 each month. And more than likely, if someone qualifies for the maximum possible benefit, it means he or she has had a long and successful career that lasted into their 60s. Someone in this situation likely has their own savings for retirement, or they may have no plans to retire at all.

For everyone else, it’s worth aiming for a salary high enough to maximize your potential Social Security benefit when you decide to retire. But if you’re saving and investing for your golden years along the way, you may not want to continue working well into your 60s. Waiting to claim benefits until age 70 may still be a good idea, but ideally you can enjoy your early retirement without worrying about getting every penny possible from Social Security .