Here’s the Average Social Security Check for Someone Who Made $100K Their Whole Career
Written by
J. Arky
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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$100,000 sounds like a lot, unless it is what you made in the course of your lifetime.
Some people only earn the minimum six figures over the course of their careers, meaning that when it comes time to cash out and retire, they might not have as much of a payout in terms of Social Security.
GOBankingRates asked some experts to do the math on what the average Social Security check looks like for someone who only made $100K in their whole career.
Average Indexed Monthly Earnings
Ben Waterman, CEO of Strabo, explained that Social Security is based on your highest earning 35 years, adjusted for inflation.
“So someone who earned $100k in total over their lifetime would have likely earned $2,857 [per] year over 35 years, which is $238 [a month] in inflation adjusted earnings,” Waterman noted. “What they then do is apply a formula that replaces a high percentage of a very low income — it’s roughly 90% of the first layer of earnings. However, because the earnings base is so small, the final benefit is still pretty modest.”
Steve Case, a financial and insurance consultant with InsuranceHero, added that continuously taking a 35 year average of what you have earned each month is used to create a person’s Average Indexed Monthly Earnings.
“When you divide the $100,000 in 420 months of 35 years, then you will be making an average a month of only $238,” Case described.
Real World Translation of Benefits
Waterman applied the formula from 2026 and highlighted that the level of lifetime earnings would translate to a monthly Social Security benefit of approximately $200 to $250 at retirement age.
“The reason for this is that the system is progressive, but it can’t magically create income that wasn’t there, it’s a function of lifetime earnings,” Waterman pointed out. “If they were low, the benefit will be low.”
Case added that the Social Security “program will serve to assist the low earners but the arithmetic of the program can still come in as bitter to those whose work history or total contribution is not high.”
Final Answer
Social Security is designed as a safety net, not a full retirement plan, or a full income replacement, according to Waterman.
“This is particularly true for people with limited lifetime earnings,” Waterman continued. “Anyone who spent long periods of time economically inactive will most certainly need supplementary income from savings, family help, or the addition of a needs-based program to make retirement viable.”
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