Here’s the biggest driver of your Social Security check in 2026. Hint: it’s not when you claim

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Here’s the biggest driver of your Social Security check in 2026. Hint: it’s not when you claim Vishesh Raisinghani Sun, June 28, 2026 at 8:10 AM EDT 6 min read JPM Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below. If you're approaching retirement and worried about the size of your benefit check, delayed retirement credits are often presented as your most powerful tool. You can boost your monthly Social Security payouts by as much as 24% by simply waiting to file until the age of 70 instead of 67, according to the Social Security Administration (1). That's a big jump in passive income, for sure, but these credits aren't the only tool at your disposal. Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here's how to fix it ASAP JP Morgan sees gold hitting $6,000/oz before 2027 — and a Gold IRA lets you hold the physical metal while deferring the tax bill. Get your free guide from Priority Gold The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100 In fact, there is another factor that could have as much, if not more, of an impact on your final payments. Here's a closer look at this key driver of Social Security that most people miss. When you look under the hood, one of the key variables the SSA considers while calculating your payout is your lifetime earnings. However, the SSA doesn't consider every single dollar earned over the course of your entire career. Instead, it uses a highly specific formula to determine eligibility. Here's how it works: The SSA (2) takes your 35 highest-earning years, indexes them for wage inflation so old paychecks count in today's dollars, and divides the total by 420 months. That figure is your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings, or AIME. For retirees who don't know about this formula, there are some clear traps. If your career is shorter than 35 years, the SSA simply assigns a zero value to those extra years (3). That, of course, pulls the whole average down, resulting in a lower payout. There's also a chance that you spent a few years of your life in entry-level or part-time positions that pull the average down further. If you started your career waiting tables at minimum wage but ended up as a well-paid lawyer, your early years still count and could impact your payouts. This is why the AIME can be such a potent lever. Unlike the delayed retirement credits, there is no cap on how much you earn later in life. So one or two extra years of well-paid compensation could, theoretically, have a larger impact than waiting three years from 67 to 70. Run the numbers on the SSA's online calculator (4). Consider a hypothetical situation for a new retiree, Elizabeth. She spent the first five years of her adulthood unemployed and accumulated five $0 entries on her record. But over the last three years of her career, she earned $110,000 annually. This, according to the SSA, delivers a $2,833 monthly payout at age 67. However, if Elizabeth found additional part-time or consulting work and boosted her annual earnings to $165,000 for the final three years, her monthly payout would be boosted to $2,981 at age 67. That's an early retirement with a solid 5.2% jump in monthly payouts. If that sounds appealing, here's how you can pull this lever to your advantage. To get going, check your earnings record, count the number of zeroes or modest income years, and create a plan to offset these with a few additional years of work or side gigs towards the end of your career. You don't need to make these calculations and adjustments alone, especially if you're affluent. For anyone with over $250,000 in assets, it probably makes sense to hire a professional to assist you with your career moves and retirement planning. If you have a portfolio of $250,000 or more, platforms like WiserAdvisor can connect you with vetted professionals who specialize in this kind of planning. Simply answer a few questions about your savings, retirement timeline and overall investment portfolio. From there, WiserAdvisor reviews its network to match you — for free — with up to three vetted, reputable advisors aligned with your specific needs. You can then schedule no-obligation consultations with your matches to determine who is the best fit for your long-term goals. WiserAdvisor is a matching service and does not provide financial advice directly. All matched advisors are third parties, and specific financial results are not guaranteed. If boosting earned income isn't the right option for you, you could focus on reducing taxes and boosting savings to bolster your retirement instead. A gold IRA is one option for building up your retirement fund with an inflation-hedging asset. Opening a gold IRA with the help of Goldco allows you to invest in gold and other precious metals while also providing the significant tax advantages of an IRA. With a minimum purchase of $10,000, Goldco offers free shipping and access to a library of retirement resources. Plus, the company will match up to 10% of qualified purchases in free silver . If you're curious whether this is the right investment to diversify your portfolio, you can download your free gold and silver information guide today . Just keep in mind that gold is often best used as one part of a well-diversified portfolio. For retirees with more runway, you could also consider supercharging your savings by simplifying your investing process. With Acorns , you can automatically invest spare change from your everyday purchases into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock. For instance, if you buy a donut for $3.25, Acorns will round up the purchase to $4 and invest the change in a smart investment portfolio. So a $3.25 purchase automatically becomes a 75-cent investment in your future. Over the course of a decade, these round-ups can start to add up when coupled with solid investing habits. And, if you hit a point where you want to contribute more, you can set up recurring monthly deposits on top of your round-ups. Drivers who shop around could save up to $1,100 a year on car insurance. Compare 100+ quotes with Insurify in just 5 minutes — no phone calls required Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year and begs investors not to miss this 'explosion' The new tax breaks in Trump's 'big beautiful bill' expire after 2028 — and financial experts say most people won't act in time. Here's what to do before the window closes I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement. What do I do? Don't panic. Here are 10 ways to catch up fast We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our ethics and guidelines . Social Security Administration ( 1 ), ( 2 ), ( 4 ); Thrivent ( 3 ) This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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