Most American retirees rely on Social Security checks to make ends meet and cover all their food, housing, and healthcare needs. According to a recent Gallup survey, between 80% and 90% of American retirees heavily depend on their Social Security benefits to cover their cost of living expenses.
Additionally, it’s one of the systems that has had the greatest impact on poverty reduction: another analysis has concluded that 22.7 million beneficiaries are lifted out of poverty with their payments.
Furthermore, as of today, 16.5 million adults aged 65 and older receive support from Social Security payments. And the bigger the check, the better the retirees’ quality of life. That’s why many people dream of getting the maximum $4,873 check offered by Social Security. But what are the requirements for that monthly amount?
Scoring the top $4,873 Social Security Check in 2024
To get the biggest and best of Social Security checks in 2024, you must meet certain specific requirements that must be fulfilled in parallel all three. These requirements complement each other so that you can have a financially comfortable retirement with all expenses covered.
The first of these requirements is to wait until age 70 or older to retire because the longer you postpone retirement, the higher your monthly benefit will be. For each year you delay retirement from age 62 (the full retirement age for most qualifying individuals), your monthly payment will increase by a percentage.
Learn More: The Full Social Security Schedule for June Announced by the SSA
The second requirement is to have at least 35 years of work with Social Security contributions. In 2024, to get $4,873, you should have paid payroll taxes to Social Security from your income. The more years, the higher the benefit because your earnings are revalued each year until reaching full retirement age.
This means that even if you earn the maximum taxable amount each year for 35 years or many more years after that threshold, a work history can significantly increase your monthly benefit.
Retirement savings are revalued with the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which is an increase applied by the SSA each year so that beneficiaries do not lose purchasing power against inflation. You can always check your contribution and earnings history at the Social Security Administration here.
The third requirement is combinable with the previous one: to maximize benefits, you must have earned the maximum income subject to Social Security taxes for most of your work career. In 2024, the maximum annual taxable income is $168,600.
Examples of Three Workers With Different Work Histories
Worker A: This worker has worked for 40 years and has earned the maximum taxable amount of $198,400 each year. By consistently reaching the maximum taxable income limit over an extended period, Worker A will receive the highest monthly benefit from Social Security.
Worker B: In this case, the worker has worked for 35 years and has also earned the maximum taxable amount of $198,400 each year. Although Worker B has earned the same annual amount as Worker A, it has been for five years less. As a result, Worker B’s Social Security monthly benefit will be high but not as high as Worker A’s due to the difference in years worked at the maximum taxable amount.
Worker C: This worker has worked for 35 years, the same as Worker B, but has earned only $100,000 per year. Despite working the same number of years as Worker B, the lower annual income means that Worker C will receive the lowest monthly benefit from Social Security among the three, as their average taxable incomes are significantly lower.
The $4,873 Social Security Maximum Could See an Increase Next Year
The forecast for the COLA increase has significantly changed month by month so far this year. In the latest estimate from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), based on the CPI-W (Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers), done in April, Social Security benefits are expected to increase by around 3.4%.
“That’s slightly lower than the inflation trends indicated last month based on February’s CPI-W data. Based on this trend, The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) is adjusting the long-term forecast COLA to 2.66% in 2025,” the TSCL explained in a press release.
“For 2024, the average Social Security benefit rose by $50.00, and after subtracting $9.80 to cover Medicare Part B Premium increases, the total change in benefits came out to just $40.20 a month. With the forecast of a 2.66% COLA for 2025, it appears seniors will continue to suffer financial insecurity as much next year as they have this year,” says Shannon Benton, Executive Director of The Senior Citizens League.
“In The Senior Citizens League’s 2024 Senior Survey, a concerning trend emerges as 71% of respondents highlight an increase in household costs exceeding the 3.2% COLA they received for 2023.”
