In April, approximately 50.9 million retired-worker beneficiaries took home an average Social Security check of $1,915.26. This might not be a large amount of money, but Social Security income has proved vital to the financial well-being of retirees for decades.

For 23 years, national pollster Gallup has surveyed retirees to gauge their reliance on the income they receive from America's top retirement program. No fewer than 80% of respondents in any given year noted that it was a "major" or "minor" income source. In 2024, only 11% of retirees said that they didn't need their Social Security payout to make ends meet.

Getting as much as possible out of Social Security will be critical for future beneficiaries. But in order to maximize Social Security benefits, future retirees first need to understand the details of how their payout is calculated.

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Source Fool.com