Why Is My Social Security Check Smaller Than That of Someone Who Earned a Similar Wage?

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Know what factors could cut into your future benefit amount. — Getty

I get $1,250 a month in retirement benefits from Social Security. My brother-in-law gets $1,500. We had similar careers and our earnings were about the same. Why does he get more than I do?

A: There could be several reasons. Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings, and it's possible that your earnings and your brother-in-law's differed somewhat through the years, however you may recall the numbers. (And keep in mind that people don't always tell you what they really make.) It would not be surprising to find there were significant differences early in your careers, when earnings tend to be unsteady or even missing for a year or two.

Another factor to consider is the age at which you both began your benefits. You can start at 62, but at a reduced level. If you and your brother-in-law began at different ages, that could explain a difference in your payments.

In addition, if he continued to work after he began benefits and his earnings were higher than the earnings originally used in setting the amount that could have pushed his benefit up.

Q: So how exactly does Social Security set the level of a benefit?

A: It determines the dollar figure using several complicated formulas. Computers do most of the work.

When you apply for benefits, the machines calculate what Social Security calls your primary insurance amount (PIA). It's the basic sum you're due when you reach full retirement age, now 66 for new retirees.

To come up with your PIA, Social Security computers go back through your year-by-year employment history and adjust or "index" the earnings numbers to reflect increases in national wage levels over the years. The idea is to convert your past earnings to present-day values and make your benefits reflect the general rise in the standard of living that occurred during your working lifetime.

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The computers then base the PIA on the 35 years in which you earned the most. If you worked fewer than 35, zeroes are entered for the missing years.

The PIA calculation also reflects a key fact of life about Social Security: People who earned more generally get higher benefits than low-wage earners. To partially level this playing field, however, Social Security uses a progressive formula that tends to reduce benefits for high-wage earners and increase them for low-wage earners, who may have had fewer chances to save and invest for retirement.

For example, in 2013, someone who made only about $12,000 had roughly 60 percent of that income "replaced" by Social Security, while the figure for a person making around $26,000 was only about 37 percent.

Although the PIA establishes the number of dollars you're entitled to at full retirement age, your actual monthly payments can vary depending on when you start benefits. If you take them before you reach full retirement age, they'll be reduced. If you wait until a later age, your payments will be increased. Benefits top out at 70.

Q: How much money do beneficiaries actually receive?

A: The maximum Social Security benefit at full retirement age in 2014 is $2,642 per month. To achieve this level, you would need to have made or exceeded the maximum amount of income that's subject to the Social Security tax, also called the FICA tax, for 35 working years. (In 2014, the ceiling is $117,000.)

But the average benefit for 38 million retired workers in 2014 is about $1,297 a month. About 2.3 million spouses of these workers receive an average of $651 a month, while 634,000 of their children get an average $634 a month.

Payments also go to about 6.2 million survivors of deceased workers. That group includes:

1.9 million Children, who receive an average $816 month.

More than 3.8 million widows and widowers, who get $1,246 a month.

257,000 disabled widows and widowers, who draw $716 a month.

There also are more than 9 million adults whose benefits are based on disability:

8.9 million Disabled workers, who get $1,146 a month.

153,000 spouses, who receive $308 a month.

Social Security estimates that last year, 88 percent of the U.S. population age 65 and older were receiving benefits. Also, about 96 percent of workers ages 20 to 49 had enough credits to acquire Social Security survivor protection for their children under 18.