Would you be kind enough to tell me the maximum monthly Social Security one can receive?

Q. Would you be kind enough to tell me the maximum monthly Social Security one can receive?

A. Maximum Social Security benefits are paid to a wage earner who earns maximum taxable wages in every year between age 21 and the year of retirement.

The maximum payable to a wage earner retiring in 2019 at age 66 is $2,861 a month. Up to 50 percent additional is payable to a retirement-age dependent spouse. The maximum payable in future years can be expected to rise as maximum taxable wages rise.

Delayed retirement credits can increase benefits payable to wage earners who defer receiving benefits past full retirement age. Any wage earner born after 1942 receives an 8 percent benefit increase for each full year benefits are deferred (3/4 percent per month) between full retirement age and age 70.