What is the maximum social security retirement benefit amount that can be paid upon retirement?

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1. It depends on your birthday, your age at retirement, and your earnings. In particular, a person born in 1940 has a different maximum than a person born in 1950. There is a calculator at the Social Security website that you can play with to see what your benefit could be. Succinctly, the formula is take the 35-year average of your eligible FICA wages for the highest 35 years. ZEROs count. That means, if you work 30 years at $10,000 and no other years, then your average is 30 x $10,000 / 35.
2. The maximum benefit depends on the age at which a worker chooses to retire. The amount for 2009 for a person retiring at full retirement age (66) is $2,323. This is based on earnings at the maximum taxable amount for every year after age 21. ~