You Might Be A 'Lower-Class' Retiree If Your Social Security Check Is Below This Number

To earn Social Security benefits, workers must reach an earnings benchmark during their career years and pay corresponding payroll taxes into the Social Security Administration (SSA). Other than self-employed workers, employees don't forward payroll taxes directly. Instead, employers withhold and pay an amount based upon each employee's compensation levels that SSA credits to the employee's account. To become eligible to receive Social Security retirement benefits, workers must earn 40 or more credits; since 1978, workers can earn up to four credits annually. So, someone might work ten years with maximum credits or more years with fewer annual credits to quality. The dollar amount needed to earn a credit may change annually: in 2025, earning $1,810 equalled one credit. 

The amount of a person's check, however, is not based on credits earned. As described by SSA, the agency calculates a person's earnings over a 35-year period. SSA then adjusts those earnings to account for typical wage levels taking place during the person's employment years to determine that worker's indexed earnings. After SSA has gathered this information, the agency then focuses on years with the highest indexed earnings to calculate an average and the benefit amount. Higher earners will therefore receive bigger retirement checks from Social Security than lower earners. SSA doesn't directly label anyone as a lower earning retiree. If, though, this is defined as receiving less than the average Social Security income, as of August 2025, the SSA listed the average monthly benefit for retired workers as $2,008.31. 

In 2024, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities — according to GOBankingRates reporting — defined low earners as people earning 45% less than the typical wage. Defined this way, the average annual Social Security benefit for lower earners who retired at age 65 came in at $14,824. Broken down, that's $1,235 monthly. As reported by SmartAsset, effective in 1972, very low-income workers could potentially benefit from a program that provides a Special Minimum Benefit based on working years rather than earnings. To qualify, the low-earning worker needs to work 11 or more years, paying in an undefined "significant amount" to the Social Security Trust Fund. Using 2025 figures, someone with 11 years of working experience would receive $52.10 monthly. To get the full special minimum benefit, someone must have worked 30 or more years. The benefit in 2025 would be $1,093.10. 

If someone retires before their full retirement age, which currently ranges from 66 to 67, depending upon their birth year, they can still earn a certain amount of employment wages, although with potential negative tax consequences. In 2026, the Social Security earnings limit is increasing to $24,480. (This wouldn't have much of an income tax impact for those low earners who probably wouldn't earn this amount.) In general, if someone doesn't earn the current standard deduction amount, they may not even need to file a tax return. For a single taxpayer, in 2026, the standard deduction amount is $16,100.