Want the maximum $4,873 Social Security benefit? Here is the salary you need.

Social Security was never meant to provide all of anyone’s retirement income, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the most you can from the entitlement program. The question is, how? Your future Social Security payments are determined by your current contributions to the program, but your contributions are a fixed percentage of your salary.

The answer: Earn enough money to make the maximum allowable contributions to the government-run program.

Here’s the salary you need to earn this year (and in years past) to have any chance of securing future monthly Social Security checks, like this year’s maximum of $4,873.

The magic number

The size of retired workers’ Social Security payments depends on their earnings during their working years. The more you do, the more you get back.

But there are limits. Since the program’s monthly payments are capped at $4,873, to avoid penalizing you by withholding benefits you would otherwise pay for, the Social Security Administration (SSA) also limits how much of your income it taxes . The maximum taxable income this year is $168,600. If you earn at least that amount of money, you give yourself a chance to eventually collect the maximum possible retirement benefit from the program.

This income cap is regularly adjusted for inflation. The SSA taxable income limit was $160,200 last year. The year before, it was $147,000. In 1994, the cap was $60,600, and in 1974, it was $13,200. Inflation has increased these numbers over time.

Data source: US Social Security Administration.

Of course, the maximum monthly Social Security benefit has also risen with inflation. In 1974, the most anyone could collect from the program was only a few hundred dollars a month. In 2004, it was $1,825.

That said, earning above-average wages is only part of the formula for maximizing your eventual Social Security benefits. There are two other key components involved.

Time and age are also factors

Earning $168,600 this year isn’t all you need to collect the biggest possible Social Security checks in the future. You must have validated the maximum taxable wages listed in the table above for at least 35 years. To calculate your benefit, the SSA takes your 35 highest earning years into account to get the number.

That doesn’t mean you have to work 35 years to collect, to be clear. If you only work 30 years, for example, the program will simply award you $0 in wages for the remaining five years, reducing your benefits in the process.

On the other hand, reaching or exceeding the above thresholds for More over 35 doesn’t help grow your Social Security check, although it probably allows you to save more on your own in a retirement or brokerage account.

As if earning big salaries three decades from now isn’t hard enough, there’s one last thing you need to do to maximize your monthly benefit: delay claiming Social Security benefits until you’re 70. Although you are eligible from the age of 62. , claiming before 70 means the SSA will reduce your benefit below the $4,873 maximum. Just remember that delaying your claim after age 70 won’t increase your Social Security checks any more. In fact, since the program doesn’t pay you retroactively for more than six months in the past, you might as well file as soon as you turn 70.

Just part of a bigger financial plan

Realistically, most people reading this don’t qualify for the maximum monthly Social Security benefit anyway, and that’s okay. The SSA says this year’s average monthly pay for retired workers is $1,907. Unfortunately, that’s not enough for most people to live on during retirement, which is why it’s so important for you to save for retirement yourself, even if it’s just a few hundred dollars a year. The key is consistency and patience, continuing to contribute when you are discouraged or find it difficult to do so.

Investing $1,000 a year in an average performing stock index fund would be worth about $300,000 (before taxes) at the end of a 35-year period. That amount of money could generate an additional $1,000 in monthly income during retirement. Pairing these with your monthly Social Security benefit can provide a lot more breathing room in your budget.

When it comes to saving, the challenge for most people is just getting started. Don’t let it be you, even if you’re starting small. You can always upgrade your savings plan and increase your contributions over time. In fact, that’s what most successful retirement savers do.