When we retire we all expect to receive the maximum benefit possible, but there are a few things that future retirees need to take into account that determine whether or not they are eligible to get the maximum possible benefit that the Social Security Administration distributes. Because of these conditions, the people that actually manage to get the maximum retirement benefit are very few, but striving to fulfill these conditions will get you as close as possible, as you will be working towards the goal.
The first thing you should know is that once you have claimed benefits, the amount is set and you will not be able to increase your benefits any longer (you can go back into the workforce and freeze them, but that still poses problems, and it will not yield the desired results). Any cost of living increases will be based on the benefit amount you got when you retired and you will never be able to claw your benefit up to the maximum amount, so you need to do these steps while you are still in the workforce and do them as soon as possible.
What you need to do to obtain the maximum possible Social Security retirement benefit
The first thing you need to do is to make sure you have worked for at least 35 years. This is the most important thing you can do to increase your benefits, as every year that you have not worked of the 35 that the Social Security Administration considers counts as a cero in the formula used to calculate benefits, which means that they automatically go down. If you have worked for more than 35 years, only the highest earning years will be taken into consideration, so do not worry if you hit a rough patch at some point.
The second thing you need to take into consideration is that only the highest contributors to the system get to take out the highest payments. Social Security taxes have an upper limit, and in 2025 that is $176,100. That means that anything over that amount is not subject to these taxes (it is subject to other forms of taxation) and that if you earn at or over the upper limit for Social Security for the whole 35 years you will get the maximum benefit.
But just as there is an upper limit there is also a lower limit of contribution. Each Social Security credit (of which you need 40, and you can earn 4 per year, which means that to begin to receive retirement benefits you need to work for at least ten years) is worth $1,810 in covered earnings each year. In 2025 that translates to a total of $7,240 in yearly earnings to get the credit. Once you have worked the minimum of 10 years your earning potential as a retiree will entirely depend on the amount you earn, not the credits.
The third and last thing you need to take into account to get the maximum retirement benefit is that when you retire matters, and that in order to get the maximum, you will need to delay your benefit collection until you are 70 years old. It can be very tempting to choose to leave the workforce as soon as possible, which is 62 years old if you want any kind of benefit, but that will only give you 70% of the retirement benefit you are entitled to. Waiting until 65 to take the plunge is a better option, as you will then at least have Medicare coverage, but most people only choose to wait until Full Retirement Age to get 100% of their retirement benefits.
While this is a good option, it is not the best option, as if you wait until age 70 you can get up to 124% of your maximum retirement benefit at Full Retirement Age, meaning that your retirement will be a lot cozier.