Landscapeinsight- One of the most well-liked social services in U.S. history is Social Security. As it was first planned, the system was completely safe because payroll taxes paid by current workers covered benefits for seniors.
Sadly, some things have thrown off the balance that has been keeping Social Security solvent for so long. A big factor has been demographics, as the ratio of retirees to active workers has grown significantly, in part because people are living longer. Because of this, the Social Security Trustees have said that payments could be cut by 23% as early as 2034 if lawmakers don’t do something.
The people with higher incomes shouldn’t be hurt as much by this as the people with lower incomes would be. Many of those people depend on Social Security as their only source of retirement income. But it could still hurt because people who made more money working will lose more money. After all, their Social Security payments will be higher due to the change.
The upper class makes a lot of money. This is how that relates to Social Security and how much the average upper-class worker gets.
Upper-Class Income Range for 2024
The Pew Research Center says that someone is “upper income” if their income is twice the national median income. The median income in the United States was thought to be $95,750 in March 2024. A person with a “upper income” of $143,600 or more was considered to be wealthy.
Average Social Security Check
As of January 2024, the average retirement check from Social Security was $1,907 per month. People who weren’t getting their own income-based benefits were getting an average of $912 a month in spousal benefits.
When these two benefits are added together, they give the average worker and partner a monthly check for $2,919, or $33,828 a year.
Average Social Security Checks of Upper-Class Retirees
The highest amount of money you can make and still get Social Security benefits is called the “wage base.” In general, people from the upper class make more than this amount. But they might not reach this level in 2024. In 2024, the Social Security wage base is $168,600, which is more than the “upper income” level set by Pew Research at $143,600 or more.
Upper-class workers would get the most out of Social Security if they made more than this amount for at least 35 years of their jobs.
The greatest amount of money you can get from Social Security relies on how old you are when you file. This number changes every year too. This means that in 2024, people who applied for benefits at age 62 could get up to $2,710, while people who waited until the “full retirement age” of 67 could get up to $3,822. People who didn’t file their taxes until they were 70 years old could get the biggest possible retirement bonus of $4,873.
Ways To Boost Your Social Security Check
As was already said, the two things that decide how much your Social Security check is are your filing age and how much you made during your 35 best years of work.
If you want to get the most out of Social Security, you must earn at least the minimum amount each of those 35 years and wait to file until you are 70 years old.
A $4,873 monthly bonus, or $58,476 a year, is a good amount of money for anyone, even people who make a lot of money. It is currently possible that these benefits could be cut by 23% in 2034. If that happened, it would mean a loss of $13,449 a year, or more than $1,100 a month.
Additional Sources of Retirement Income for Upper-Class Retirees
Most Americans probably wouldn’t mind getting more than $50,000 a year in Social Security, but for most people with high incomes, that would only make up a small part of their retirement income. According to Vanguard, the average 401(k) amount for people making $150,000 or more in 2021 was $354,569. For people making $15,000 or less, it was only $8,260.
However, big 401(k) balances and high Social Security payments are not the only ways for wealthy retirees to make money. The 2023 Schwab Modern Wealth Survey says that a person is considered rich if they have a net worth of at least $2.2 million.
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This includes rental properties, second homes, outside savings and retirement accounts, and other assets. In a made-up situation, that $2.2 million net worth could bring in $110,000 a year at a 5% interest rate if it were fully liquid.
Irving is the Chief Editor at the Landscape Insight. He lives just outside of New York. His writings have also been featured in some very famous magazines. When he isn’t reading the source material for a piece or decompressing with a comfort horror movie, Irving is usually somewhere in his car. You can reach Irving at – [email protected] or on Our website Contact Us Page.
