For most retirees, Social Security is a modest monthly check. The average retired worker receives about $2,076 per month, according to USA Today (1), meaning the typical married couple brings in roughly $4,152 combined.

That’s a comfortable supplement to retirement savings, but it’s nowhere near the ceiling.

That ceiling, in 2026, is $10,362 (2) per month for a married couple — more than $124,000 a year in inflation-adjusted, guaranteed income. This represents what two spouses can collect when both qualify for the maximum individual benefit (2) of $5,181 per month, as reported by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for workers retiring at age 70 in 2026.

The gap between $4,152 and $10,362 comes down to two variables: career earnings and when you claim. Both are decisions most people make without fully grasping the math — and by the time they do, the window to change course has often closed.

Qualifying for the top benefit is genuinely rare. To get there, you need at least 35 years (1) of earnings at or above the Social Security taxable wage base — $184,500 in 2026, according to the IRS (3) — and you need to wait until age 70 (1) to file.

Each condition alone is uncommon. According to the SSA (4), of the 183 million workers in Social Security-covered employment in 2023, about 6% had earnings that equaled or exceeded the taxable maximum. And only about 10% of workers (5) wait until age 70 to claim Social Security benefits, according to research cited by CNBC.

For a couple to collect $10,362 a month, both spouses would need to clear both bars — sustaining top-tier earnings for 35 years and each waiting until 70. That combination is extraordinarily rare.

The SSA’s FAQ (2) lays out what the maximum looks like depending on when you claim:

Retire at 62 (earliest eligibility): $2,969/month

Full retirement age (6) (67 for those born in 1960 or later): up to $4,152/month

Age 70 (maximum with delayed credits): up to $5,181/month

“You can see there is a huge spread,” Michael Greenwald, director of tax services at Berkowitz Pollack Brant, tells (7) U.S. News.

That spread is the product of delayed retirement credits — according to the SSA (8), workers born in 1943 or later receive an 8% annual boost for every year they wait past full retirement age, up to age 70. Claiming at 62, by contrast, locks in a roughly 30% (6) permanent reduction.

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Timing matters, but earnings history is the deeper constraint. Social Security calculates benefits using your 35 highest-earning years, adjusted for inflation. Years with no earnings count as zeros, which drag down your average and your eventual check.

“You have to pay into Social Security to get the maximum amount,” Brian Remson, advanced planning advisor at Credent Wealth Management, tells (7) U.S. News. “You need to maximize the years you’re above that wage base.”

The silver lining: if you’re still working and have some lean years on your record, additional earnings can replace them. “If you only have 35 years of work history and you continue to work and replace lower-earning years, it’s certainly worth doing,” Greenwald advises (7).

Of course, not every couple has two high earners. But there’s still a meaningful strategy available through spousal benefits.

According to AARP (9), married couples can each receive their own individual benefit based on their own earnings record, and those payments generally do not reduce each other (though one spouse may receive the higher of their own benefit or a spousal benefit, not both in full).

For a household where one spouse has a limited work history, the lower-earning spouse may claim a spousal benefit worth up to 50% (10) of the higher earner’s full retirement age benefit (if claimed at their own full retirement age).

That changes the math: if the higher earner qualifies for $5,181 at 70, and the lower-earning spouse collects a spousal benefit of around $2,590, the combined household total reaches roughly $7,771 per month — still well above the average couple’s $4,152, though the spousal portion would be reduced if claimed before full retirement age.

For couples still in the planning phase, the clearest lever is coordinating who claims when. The higher-earning spouse should often consider waiting until 70. The reasoning goes beyond maximizing their own benefit — it also sets a higher survivor benefit. If that spouse dies first, the surviving partner generally receives the larger of the two benefits.

“Social Security strategy is super important, and people underestimate the importance of it,” Russell Hackmann, founder and president of Hackmann Wealth Partners, tells (7) U.S. News. “It makes sense in my opinion for the person with the higher income to wait.”

The lower-earning spouse can often claim earlier to generate income in the meantime. This can keep the household afloat while the higher earner’s benefit continues to grow.

One important caveat: delaying benefits means drawing down other savings in the interim. “If I wait longer, then I have to use some of my investments,” Hackmann notes (7), adding that taxes on early withdrawals from retirement accounts can complicate the picture.

While the $10,362 monthly maximum is real, it requires a career’s worth of high earnings and near-optimal timing. For most couples, the more actionable goal is closing the gap between average and possible. The strategies to do that are available to far more people than the top benefit ever will be.

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USA Today (1); Social Security Administration (2),(4),(6),(8),(10); Internal Revenue Service (3); CNBC (5); U.S. News (7); AARP (9)

This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Some couples are collecting $10,000 a month from Social Security — here’s who qualifies and what it takes to get there

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.