People hoping to receive the maximum Social Security benefit need to pay close attention to the yearly wage base limits.
There’s no denying how important Social Security benefits are for retirees. In September, over 54 million Americans received Social Security retirement benefits, with many relying on them to make ends meet.
Since Social Security is a large part of many retirees’ retirement income, it makes sense that people would want to maximize the monthly amount they receive. It’s not common to receive the maximum Social Security monthly benefit, but it’s also not a pipe dream.
If you’re aiming to hit this milestone — or are already receiving the maximum monthly benefit — the following are the maximum monthly benefits at ages 62, 67, and 70 in 2025.
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Here’s how Social Security calculates your monthly benefits
Before discussing the maximum monthly benefits, knowing how Social Security Administration (SSA) calculates your benefits is important. The SSA calculates your monthly benefit using your average income during the 35 years you earned the most.
First, your income is adjusted for inflation (called “indexing”) to put the money into today’s dollar value. From there, Social Security divides the total number of months in those 35 years to get your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME). If you don’t have 35 years’ worth of earnings, Social Security will use zeros for the missing years to calculate your average.
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The maximum Social Security benefits at ages 62, 67, and 70
Ages 62, 67, and 70 are key ages in Social Security. Age 62 is important because it’s the earliest you can claim benefits; 67 is important because that will be most new claimers’ full retirement age; and 70 is important because that’s the latest you can delay benefits and increase your monthly benefit.
Below are the maximum monthly benefits in 2025 at those ages:
| Age | Maximum Monthly Benefit |
|---|---|
| 62 | $2,831 |
| 67 | $4,043 |
| 70 | $5,108 |
Source: Social Security Administration.
Here’s how you can receive the maximum monthly benefits
The key number to know if you’re aiming for the maximum monthly benefit at certain ages is the wage base limit. This is the maximum amount of your income subject to Social Security payroll taxes each year.
To receive the maximum monthly benefit, you’ll need to earn at least the wage base limit in each of the 35 years that Social Security uses to calculate your benefits. Earning anything below the wage base limit in any of those 35 years would automatically disqualify you from earning the maximum amount.
Here are the past 10 wage base limits, including the newly released 2025 figure:
| Year | Wage Base Limit |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $176,100 |
| 2024 | $168,600 |
| 2023 | $160,200 |
| 2022 | $147,000 |
| 2021 | $142,800 |
| 2020 | $137,700 |
| 2019 | $132,900 |
| 2018 | $128,400 |
| 2017 | $127,200 |
| 2016 | $118,500 |
Source: Social Security Administration.
Since you don’t pay Social Security payroll taxes on any income above the wage base limit, those earnings are also not considered when calculating your monthly benefit. Someone who earned $1 million annually in the 35 years used to calculate their benefits would have the same monthly Social Security benefit as someone who earned $1 above the wage base limit in those 35 years.
Most people won’t receive the maximum monthly benefit
Receiving the maximum monthly Social Security benefit sounds enticing, but unfortunately the vast majority of people won’t qualify for it. According to Social Security, only around 6% of covered workers earn above the wage base limit each year. Only around 20% of covered workers will earn above the wage base limit for at least one year during their career, leaving many people ineligible to receive the maximum benefit.
If you find yourself ineligible for the maximum benefit, don’t fret. Ideally, Social Security is supplemental income to complement other retirement income sources, such as retirement accounts or investments. Using as many income sources as possible ensures you’re as prepared to enjoy your golden years as possible.
