What Is the Lowest Social Security Check per Month?
While most people are interested in the biggest Social Security check they can get each month, there are some people who may be getting the minimum possible amount per month based on a variety of factors.
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While there's not a hard and fast 'lowest' benefit amount because of the variety of factors involved in calculating benefits, there are some ways to look at how much, or little as the case may be, some folks are getting.
If you started taking your Social Security benefits at the full retirement age of 67, for those born in 1960 or later, your maximum benefit in 2025 would be $4,108 per month, which goes up to $5,108 per month if you wait until you turn 70.
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The lowest average Social Security benefit will vary based on the age you take your benefits, how much you paid in over your earning years, and whether or not you get spousal benefits from a deceased spouse. If the maximum benefit is $5,108, as mentioned above, if you started claiming benefits at age 62, before full retirement age, that amount would drop significantly, to only $2,831 per month.
If you're on Supplemental Security Income, for people with very limited income and resources, including some people with disabilities, the minimum benefit available for a single 'essential person' is $484 per month.
However, there's yet one more category available, known as the 'Special Minimum Benefit.' This program, started in 1972, was created to provide a 'baseline income' for employees who earn such low wages as to provide a higher benefit than they'd receive by the traditional Social Security formula.
To be eligible for the minimum monthly benefit (in 2025) of $52.10, a person has to have at least 11 years of coverage. A year of coverage is earned based on a specific earnings amount in that year.
However, this program has fewer and fewer beneficiaries every year, down from around 200,000 in the early 1990s to about 32,100 as of 2019.
If one person in a married couple did not earn enough Social Security credits to get benefits for their own work record but their spouse did or if their benefits are small, they may be eligible for half the amount of their spouse's benefit at the full retirement age of 67 (not the higher amount if they waited until 70). You do have to be 62 or older or any age if you're caring for a child 16 or under with a disability who is also entitled to benefits on your spouse's work record.
Your spouse has to be receiving benefits for you to get benefits based on their record, and it's ideal to wait until full retirement age to start claiming.
These benefits extend to divorced spouses who were married 10 years or more, as well, but there are other requirements in this case, so you will want to make sure you meet them all.
To make sure you are getting the maximum, and not the minimum Social Security benefits each month, be sure to speak with a financial advisor who has Social Security expertise, as many of the claiming decisions are permanent and can't be changed if you've made a mistake.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Is the Lowest Social Security Check per Month?
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