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00:00:06.639Do you know where your Social Security check actually ranks?
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00:00:15.599Not the average, not some vague estimate, but your actual number compared to every other retiree that's currently drawing a benefit.
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00:00:22.640The average benefit gets quoted constantly, and honestly, it tells you almost nothing about where you stand.
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00:00:41.439I'm Jonathan Bedner, certified financial planner with Paradigm Wealth Partners, and I pulled the newest 2026 data from the Social Security Administration to show you exactly where your Social Security check falls and what moves it up if you haven't already started claiming your Social Security.
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00:00:46.479If you don't know your number, you can't know if you're leaving money on the table.
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00:00:59.520So the number that everybody quotes, according to the most recent data from Social Security.gov is$2071 a month.
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00:01:06.799That's the average Social Security benefit as of January 2026, according to SSA.gov.
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00:01:10.239But averages hide the shape of things, right?
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00:01:21.359They don't tell you if most people are clustered right around that number or if it's being dragged uh around by either a handful of outliers, either up or down.
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00:01:24.640So let's just walk through where people actually land.
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00:01:34.000So$900 a month and below in Social Security, you're in the bottom 10% of benefits.
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00:01:38.959At around$1,200 a month, you're around the 20%.
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00:01:51.280Once you get to$1,900 a month, you're around the median, the average or the median uh benefit that gets paid to uh retirees.
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00:01:56.959And this is where most of you are watching, they're probably going to land higher than you guess.
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00:02:07.519At$3,200 a month, that puts you in the top 25% of uh people that are receiving Social Security benefit.
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00:02:10.719At$3,700 a month, you're in the top 10.
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00:02:21.120And if you're pulling in$4,700 or more on a monthly basis, you're in the top of 1% of everyone that is collecting Social Security.
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00:02:27.360Now, the absolute ceiling, the highest that you could get is$5,181 a month.
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00:02:33.520That's the max benefit for someone reaching age 70 in 2026.
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00:02:38.560Now, here's why high earners don't just automatically land at the top.
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00:02:41.280Social Security is built to be progressive.
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00:02:53.759Lower earners get back a higher percentage of what they've paid into, and higher earners get a bigger check in raw dollars, but smaller return relative to what they've actually paid in.
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00:02:59.919So bigger income doesn't necessarily mean or guarantee a top-tier benefit.
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00:03:05.280It has a lot more uh specific than that.
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00:03:22.800So when I work through or walk with clients through analyzing their Social Security, um, and I'm working with clients, most of them land somewhere between$2,400 and$3,600 a month, at least for the clients that we're working with.
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00:03:35.919So a lot of my clients are sitting in that, you know, median to top 25%, and maybe even sometimes top 10% relative to their peers.
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00:03:37.680Now, how did they get here?
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00:03:47.599They've typically worked longer careers, maybe they had higher lifetime earnings, um, and or maybe they just had more years fully worked.
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00:03:49.520They may be even delayed.
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00:03:54.000So because of that, income alone doesn't set your percentile.
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00:03:59.919I've seen high earners land lower than you would expect just because they claimed early.
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00:04:09.039And I've seen more modest earners land higher because they waited or their spouse benefit um picked up some of the slack.
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00:04:16.240And so what you can see is the percentile the percentile isn't locked in the day you retire.
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00:04:22.240If you haven't claimed it yet, you've still got some control of where you land.
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00:04:38.399So before we get into actually how uh that number impacts and how you can actually move that benefit number, uh, if you'd rather just have someone run these numbers against your specific situation, that's exactly what we can do at Paradigm Wealth Partner.
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00:04:42.800Links in the description if you want to schedule a call and talk through it.
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00:04:54.959Let's get back to maybe the top three things that actually move your uh benefit and therefore the percentile uh as it stacks up against you know your peers.
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00:04:57.759So uh first, the first one's pretty simple.
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00:05:07.040If you delay your Social Security claim for every year you wait past full retirement age up to age 70, your benefit grows by roughly 8%.
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00:05:16.720So if you wait from 67 to 70 and you're collecting about 124% of your full benefit.
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00:05:23.120So if you take it early at 62 instead of delaying, you're locked in.
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00:05:30.560And so you actually are are getting a reduced amount versus waiting till your full retirement age is 67.
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00:05:35.519If you claim it's 62, you're locked in at 70% permanently.
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00:05:40.879So the second thing is your 35 working years.
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00:05:47.519Social Security calculates your benefit off your highest 35 years of earnings.
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00:05:55.360So if you work fewer than 35 years, you automatically get a zero for that, and that gets pulled straight into the calculation.
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00:06:03.040It doesn't get skipped, it actually gets counted and averaged uh or calculated in as a zero.
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00:06:10.319So if you only work 30 years, you've got five years of zeros dragging your average down.
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00:06:15.439Every one of those zeros is pulling your benefit lower than it needs to be.
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00:06:21.199And a lot of the people don't realize it until it's already baked into your number.
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00:06:24.480The third thing is coordinate as a couple.
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00:06:31.680So married couples can often come out ahead by having the lower earner claim first while a higher earner delays.
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00:06:39.279The higher earner delaying helps maximize that benefit, especially once survivor benefits come into play.
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00:06:46.480That decision affects not just your check, but what your spouse has left if something happens to you first.
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00:06:49.600Another option is watch the earnings test.
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00:06:57.279If you claim before full retirement age and keep working above a certain income threshold, your benefit can actually get reduced.
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00:07:02.639It's one of the more common surprises I see, especially with people who retire in stages.
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00:07:08.800The issue isn't whether you can move the number, the issue is whether anyone ever showed you how.
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00:07:10.639So here's the real question.
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00:07:12.399What it really comes down to.
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00:07:17.439Most people ask, how do I get my social security number as high as possible?
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00:07:20.800But that's not the right question to be asking.
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00:07:26.959The right question is how is Social Security and how does that fit into everything else?
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00:07:33.120How does it fit into my plan, my withdrawal strategy, my taxes, your spouse's income?
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00:07:34.959If something happens to you.
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00:07:40.879For some people, squeezing out the highest possible check is exactly the right move.
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00:07:49.519For others, taking it out a little easier or excuse me, a little earlier makes more sense once you factor in the full picture.
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00:07:53.600Your entire financial plan and retirement strategy.
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00:07:56.399Percentile tells you where you stand.
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00:08:00.800It doesn't tell you actually what you need to do with that number.
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00:08:05.120I'm Jonathan Bedner, certified financial planner with Paradigm Wealth Partners.
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00:08:12.560If you want us to look at your specific numbers, create a plan on paper on purpose to help map out your retirement.
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00:08:14.560There's a link in the description below.
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00:08:17.199You can schedule a call directly with me.
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00:08:21.680And if you've got something out of this, make sure to hit the like and subscribe for more.
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00:08:24.079Be confident in your retirement.
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00:08:28.160Thanks for joining me on another episode of What the Well.
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00:08:31.360If you enjoyed the episode today, smash that subscribe button.
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00:08:33.039It helps me more than you think.
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00:08:37.840Also, if you found this episode insightful and a light bulb went off, share it.
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00:08:42.480Your friend Aunt Judy, the random guy in the office who's always talking about investments.
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00:08:45.440Wealth isn't about just the chip change.
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00:08:49.279It's about our choices, chances, and changing our financial futures.
00:08:49.600 -->
00:08:56.639The information in this podcast is informational and general in nature and does not take into consideration the listener's personal circumstances.
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00:09:02.159This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for specific in financial, legal, or tax advice.
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00:09:06.480You should consult the approved qualified professional prior to making a final decision.
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00:09:10.240Security is offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA SIPC.
00:09:10.399 -->
00:09:14.559Paradigm Wealth Partners is the other business name for Independent Advisor Alliance.
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00:09:24.399Investment advice offered through Independent Advisor Alliance, a registered investment advisor, Independent Advisor Alliance, and Paradigm Wealth Partners are separate entities from LPL Financial.
