Each month, the Administration of Social Security The SSA sends payments to retired workers, as well as those who are eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and who receive disability and survivor benefits.
In 2022, the median pay for retired workers was $1,657. and a maximum of $4,194, while the median payments for SSI recipients were $604 and a maximum of $841. However, the payments usually vary from one place to another and depend on each beneficiary.
Social Security: Which states receive the lowest amounts and why?
There are several factors that go into determining what a beneficiary of the Social Security program will ultimately receive, and this combination of factors can result in wide variations in what retired workers are paid, even from state to state.
In accordance with The Motley Foolin 2018 these were the states with the lowest payments: Louisiana, Mississippi, Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Alaska and North Dakota.
On the other hand, according to an analysis of GOBankingRateswhich used data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) regarding the total amount of Social Security benefits that were sent in each state along with the total number of beneficiaries, These are the states that receive the least payments:
- Alaska
- Wyoming
- North Dakota
- Vermont
- Dakota del Sur
- Rhode Island
- Montana
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Maine
The most logical reason many of these states offer retired workers pay that is well below the national average is lifetime earnings, which are a fundamental factor when calculating payments and in some of these states, the income is below average.
This variation in pay at the state level might also be explained by when retired workers choose to start receiving their benefits. People who claim their payments before their full retirement age will receive less money than those who do it on time and even compared to those who wait until age 70 to retire, since they receive even more money.
It may interest you: How does the government calculate my monthly social security payment when I retire?
