3 Steps to Claiming the $4,194 Max Monthly Social Security Benefit

The average retiree collects around $1,673 per month from Social Security, which amounts to just over $20,000 per year. The Social Security Administration calculates your benefit amount by taking an average of your wages over the 35 years of your career during which you earned the most. If you begin claiming benefits before you've worked 35 full years, you'll have zeros added to your average to account for the time you weren't working.