24, 2026 3:30 pm EST
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The call of retirement living can become too strong for any worker to ignore eventually. We all want to leave that daily grind behind, but everyone’s exit plan is unique. Some folks have the means and motivation to retire early, even tapping into their savings before getting Social Security checks. The value of your Social Security benefits is a key sign of your readiness to retire.
To check on your benefit progress, log into your (SSA) account. This gives you detailed insights into your income and tax history, which can show you the benefit amount you’re in line to receive at any point along your savings journey. One crucial number to keep in mind is 35 – this represents the 35 highest-earning years that go into calculating your Social Security benefits.
If you retire before putting in 35 years of work, at least one “zero” will get averaged into your calculation, dragging down your benefits. The more years without an income figure, the worse it gets. But reaching that 35-year milestone gives you a full slate of earnings to plug into the formula, immediately boosting your Social Security payout for the rest of your life.
AIME figures can be drastically improved once you understand the math
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The average American retires at 62, so you’d need to start working at 27 to rack up those 35 years. At the full retirement age of 67, the starting point shifts to 32. That’s a good benchmark, and most people won’t have too much trouble hitting it. But plenty of life events can get in the way – like grad school or a long-term illness. Each year you’re not earning reduces your average income by around $1,857.
Once you’ve got 35 years of earnings under your belt, the focus shifts to maximizing those “highest-earning years.” A lot of young folks work part-time jobs during school or after graduation before landing a real career. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the median weekly earnings for part-time workers 25+ is about $23,000 per year. If two of your 35 calculation years reflect that instead of a $65,000 salary, your average drops to $62,600. Stretch that to five low-earning years, and it dips to $59,000. So every year you can replace a low-income year with a higher-earning one, you boost your Social Security benefits.
