New Data: This Is the Biggest Social Security Check Any Retiree Will Get This Year

You might assume that workers have to pay taxes on all of their income to fund Social Security. But actually, for higher earners, that’s often not the case.

Social Security has a wage cap that’s set each year, and it determines how much income is taxed for its funding.

The wage cap tends to increase from one year to the next, and in 2025, it’s $176,100. This means that earnings beyond that point are exempt from Social Security so that someone earning $176,100 has the same tax burden as someone earning $800,000 or $1.6 million.

But there’s a reason for that cutoff on Social Security taxes. The program also has a maximum monthly benefit it’s willing to pay.

This year, the biggest monthly Social Security check any older American can get is $5,108. But most seniors collect a much smaller check. And it’s important to know what goes into those benefits so you can maximize yours.

How Social Security benefits are calculated

There are three main factors that determine how much Social Security you get each month:

• The number of years you worked and paid into the program
• The amount of money you earned during that time
• The age you sign up for benefits

Specifically, Social Security takes your top 35 years of income into account when calculating your retirement benefits. If your earnings meet or exceed the wage cap during your highest-paid 35 years of work, you can potentially score Social Security’s largest monthly benefit — but only if you delay your claim until age 70.

See, you’re entitled to your complete monthly benefit from Social Security without a reduction at full retirement age (FRA). But for each month you delay your claim past FRA, your benefit gets boosted by 2/3 of 1%, which amounts to about 8% per year.

And if you want the highest Social Security benefit possible, you’ll need to hold off on filing all the way up until age 70 to make that happen.

Should you chase the largest Social Security benefit possible?

It’s easy to see why you’d want to get more money from Social Security each month. But even if your wages are high enough where that’s a possibility, you’ll need to ask yourself if it’s worth waiting until age 70 to take benefits.

Depending on your financial situation, claiming Social Security at 70 could mean having to work until age 70. That may not be optimal for you if you’re hoping to retire earlier or if your job makes you miserable.

Also, if you wait until age 70 to sign up for Social Security but don’t end up living a very long life, you could end up with less total income in benefits despite a higher monthly paycheck. So you’ll need to think about how long you expect to live based on factors that include your family history and current health.

You may want to consult a professional before claiming benefits

The largest Social Security benefit anyone can get this year is $5,108 a month. And that number is likely to keep rising.

But it’s also not a given that going after the most generous monthly benefit will make sense for you. You may want to consult a financial advisor who can help you figure out an ideal Social Security filing age based on your complete financial picture.

A financial advisor, for example, might suggest that you take benefits a bit earlier so that you can fulfill a specific retirement goal you might have. Or, they might tell you to wait until age 70 to make up for a nest egg you’re not so confident in. So it’s a good idea to seek outside, unbiased advice for such a key decision.