What Is the Max Social Security Benefit at 67?

What Is the Maximum Social Security Benefit?

The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets maximum monthly benefit amounts based on your retirement age. This amount changes every year, but for people who retire in 2021, the maximum Social Security benefit they can claim is:

• $2,324 for someone who files at age 62
• $3,113 for someone who files at full retirement age — more on this below
• $3,895 for someone who files at age 70

Full Retirement Age

Full retirement age is the age people can start receiving full retirement benefits once they've left the workforce. The SSA bases their definition of the full retirement age on the year you were born. 

• For people born in 1960 or after, the full retirement age is 67.
• For people born between 1943 – 1954, the full retirement age is 66.
• For people born between 1955 – 1959, the full retirement age is 66 and either two, four, six, eight or ten months (the age increases by two months per year in that range).

If you claim benefits prior to your full retirement age, it will reduce your benefit. If you claim them after your full retirement age, it will increase them by approximately 8% annually until you reach your maximum Social Security benefit at age 70.

In 2020, the full retirement age is currently 66 and two months for individuals born in 1955, and this age will gradually increase to 67 for people born in 1960 and after.

Full retirement age also applies to employee-based pension plans. Consult with a member of your employer's HR department for information on full retirement age for any pension plans you may be contributing towards.

Resources

For more information on the maximum Social Security benefit you may be eligible to collect, consult this table from the Social Security administration, which outlines the maximum monthly benefit amount for workers who had steady earnings throughout their lifetime and have contributed Social Security taxes at the maximum level since age 22.