Does everyone get the full $5,100 Social Security payment at age 70 or is there an earnings limit?

Your coworker is completely wrong! Not everyone gets the same amount at 70. The $5,100 is just the MAXIMUM possible benefit for someone who earned at the maximum taxable income level for 35+ years and delays until 70. Your actual benefit is calculated based on your lifetime earnings (specifically your highest 35 years) and when you claim. Most people get WAY less than that maximum.

The previous comment is correct. Social Security benefits are highly individualized based on your earnings history. The $5,100 figure (actually $4,873 in 2023, likely to be higher by 2025 with COLA increases) is only for people who: 1. Earned at or above the maximum taxable earnings cap for at least 35 years 2. Delayed claiming until age 70 to maximize delayed retirement credits For most Americans, their benefit at 70 is significantly less. The average is closer to $2,000-$2,500 at full retirement age, then increased by 8% per year for each year you delay until 70.

ya ur coworker has no idea what ther talking about. i got WAY less than 5 grand when i claimed. its based on what u made during ur life

To add to what others are saying, those self-employment gaps will definitely affect your benefit if they meant you have years with zero or low earnings among your 35 highest years. Social Security calculates your benefit using the highest 35 years of earnings (indexed for inflation). If you have fewer than 35 years of earnings, they'll use zeros for the missing years, which brings down your average. You should create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov if you haven't already. It will show your earnings history and give you a personalized estimate of your benefits at different claiming ages.

I thought the same thing until I talked to SSA last year! Spent 3 HOURS on hold to find out my benefit will be about $1,850 at my full retirement age (67), not even CLOSE to that maximum! Those gaps in your work history WILL affect your benefit amount.

My sister and I both claimed at 70, and our benefits are completely different! She was a corporate executive and gets almost $4,300/month. I was a teacher and get just under $2,200. Same claiming age, totally different amounts because of our lifetime earnings.

ALSO! Something nobody mentioned yet - even if you did qualify for the maximum, that $5,100 figure isn't right for 2023. The max at age 70 for 2023 is $4,555 if you had maximum earnings for 35+ years. The numbers in these discussions are ALWAYS changing due to COLA adjustments.

One more important point: there IS an earnings limit, but it works differently than you're thinking. The earnings limit applies if you claim benefits BEFORE your Full Retirement Age (FRA) while still working. It doesn't affect what your benefit amount will be at age 70. At age 70, you can earn unlimited income from working without any reduction to your Social Security benefits. The only thing that might affect your net benefit at that point would be taxation - up to 85% of your benefit could be taxable depending on your combined income.

Just to summarize what everyone's been saying for Yara - your coworker is definitely wrong about everyone getting the same amount. Your Social Security benefit is calculated using a complex formula based on your highest 35 years of earnings, adjusted for inflation. Those self-employment gaps where you didn't pay in will likely be counted as $0 years if you don't have 35 years of covered earnings, which will lower your average and reduce your benefit. The key steps to get accurate information: 1) Create your my Social Security account at ssa.gov to see your actual earnings record and benefit estimates, 2) Remember that the maximum benefit only applies to people who earned at or above the Social Security wage base for 35+ years, and 3) At age 70, there's no earnings test so you can work and collect full benefits simultaneously. Don't rely on what coworkers think they know - get your personalized estimate from SSA directly!