Social Security recently reached an important milestone: In May 2025, average benefits climbed to over $2,000 per month for the first time. That means the typical senior can expect around $24,000 in annual benefits. It sounds like a lot, but if you’ve ever tried to live off that amount of money, you know it won’t get you very far.
Fortunately, it’s possible to beat the average benefit if you understand the factors that affect the size of your checks. If you haven’t signed up for Social Security yet, make sure you do the following three things.
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1. Work at least 35 years before applying, if possible
The Social Security Administration calculates your benefit based on your average monthly income over your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. But you don’t need to work that long to receive a retirement benefit.
You qualify with as little as 10 years of work history. However, it’s best to hold off on applying until you pass the 35-year mark, if you can. If you apply sooner, you’ll have zero-income years factored into your benefit calculation. Even one of these can permanently reduce the size of your checks.
There’s no downside to working longer than 35 years before applying, though. That could actually boost your checks if you’re earning more now than you did early in your career, because your more recent, higher-earning years start to edge your lowest-earning years out, raising your average monthly income.
2. Maximize your income today
The more you pay in Social Security payroll taxes throughout your career, the larger your retirement benefit will be. Anything you can do to increase your income today will likely also help your Social Security benefits later on. This includes getting a raise, finding a new job that pays better, and starting a side hustle.
The only people this won’t help are those already earning more than the taxable wage base — $176,100 in 2025. You don’t pay Social Security taxes on income over this amount, so it won’t help you increase your retirement benefit. However, it could improve your quality of life today.
3. Choose the right claiming age for you
You must apply at your full retirement age (FRA) if you want the full benefit you’ve earned based on your work history. That’s 67 for most people today. If you apply earlier than this, you’ll face an early claiming penalty that could reduce your checks by up to 30%. That’s enough to knock the average $2,000 monthly benefit down to $1,400 per month.
You can also delay benefits past your FRA, and your checks will continue to grow until you reach 70. At that point, you’ll get an extra 24% added to your checks if your FRA is 67. You can also claim at any age in between 62 and 70.
The ideal claiming age for you comes down to two things: health and finances. If you’re financially unable to delay Social Security, your choice is pretty simple: Claim when you need to so you don’t have to take on unnecessary debt. But you may still benefit from holding off on your application for a month or two, if you can, so you can grow your checks a little.
If you’re in poor health, early claiming could also be the right move for you. Waiting too long puts you at risk of not receiving anything from Social Security. However, if you’re married and want your spouse to get the largest possible survivor benefit after you die, waiting to claim or not claiming at all could be the way to go. When you sign up for Social Security early, you permanently reduce your spouse’s survival benefit too.
It’s generally a good idea to come up with a plan as a couple if you’re married. That way, you can choose the strategy that will best maximize your household benefits. For example, if one person significantly out-earned the other, the lower earner could claim their retirement benefit early, allowing the higher earner to delay. Then, when the higher earner applies, the lower earner can switch to a spousal benefit if it’s worth more than what they were getting on their own.
None of this is guaranteed to help you beat the $2,000 average Social Security check. But if you do all three of these things, you have a pretty good chance of scoring larger benefits that will help you cover more of your expenses in retirement.
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