The amount you can make on Social Security depends on several factors including your age at retirement, your earnings history, and whether you continue working while receiving benefits.
Maximum Social Security Benefits in 2025
- If you retire at full retirement age (around 66-67), the maximum monthly benefit is $4,018.
- If you retire at the earliest age of 62, the maximum benefit is reduced to $2,831 per month.
- If you delay retirement until age 70, you can receive the maximum benefit of $5,108 per month, which totals nearly $61,300 annually
Average Benefits
- The average Social Security benefit for retired workers in 2025 is about $1,976 per month.
- Married couples both receiving benefits average around $3,089 per month
How Benefits Are Calculated
- Benefits are based on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation.
- To get the maximum benefit, you must have earned the maximum taxable income (which is $176,100 in 2025) for at least 35 years
Earnings Limits While Receiving Benefits
- If you are under full retirement age and working while receiving Social Security, you can earn up to $23,400 in 2025 without your benefits being reduced.
- If you earn more than this, Social Security deducts $1 from your benefits for every $2 earned above the limit.
- In the year you reach full retirement age, the earnings limit increases to $62,400 (or $5,200 per month), and the reduction is $1 for every $3 earned above the limit until the month you reach full retirement age.
- After reaching full retirement age, there is no limit on earnings and your benefits will not be reduced regardless of how much you earn
Summary
- Maximum monthly Social Security benefit in 2025: $5,108 (if retiring at age 70).
- Average monthly benefit: $1,976.
- Earnings limit while under full retirement age: $23,400 in 2025.
- No earnings limit after full retirement age.
Your actual benefit depends heavily on your work history, age at retirement, and whether you continue to work while receiving benefits. To maximize your Social Security income, delaying benefits until age 70 and having a high lifetime earnings record are key strategies
