The largest retirement benefit is worth $4,873 as of January 2024 and through December 2024. The Social Security Administration (SSA) increases benefits if inflation increases yearly.
On average, benefits increase about 2%, but sometimes there can be much higher COLA increases. For example, there was an 8.7% COLA boost back in 2023. This year’s prediction is about 2.6% according to the Senior Citizens League.
How to get $4,873 from Social Security in 2024
Now you know the maximum benefits and how they could increase every year, let’s move on to the basics to get more money from the Administration. There are 4 essential requirements to take into account.
In the first place, workers should have at least 35 years of work. This is the number of years Social Security will need to calculate your retirement benefit amount. If you just work for 34 years, that missing year counts as $0 in earnings.
Even if you just need ten years of work to get retirement benefits at 62, it will give you a small check. Ten years of work is the same as 40 work credits, but that may imply relying on SSI and SNAP benefits too.
Filing age, earnings, and SSA taxes
Apart from having worked for 35 years, there are 3 other essential things to take into consideration. All of them are necessary to succeed and enjoy a $4,873 check in retirement.
United States workers must file at the age of 70 if they want to opt for the $4,873 payment. Early filing is great for having more free time and a lower payment too.
Last but not least, you must earn the taxable maximum for 35 years in jobs covered by SSA. If you do not pay enough taxes, you will not receive such a large direct deposit. Some workers may get a pension for the jobs they had, but if they did not pay payroll taxes they do not qualify for Social Security.
