Social Security is designed to provide income for people who can no longer work. You can start collecting benefits as early as 62, but you will receive the maximum benefit if you wait until turning 70.
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Anyone who contributed to Social Security is entitled to payouts, even billionaires like Walmart’s heirs. There are several Walmart heirs who own almost half of the company’s stock. Several of them are billionaires with high salaries, which would qualify them for the highest possible Social Security benefit.
Claiming Social Security Early vs. Later
You will receive the least benefits if you take out Social Security when you turn 62. However, someone who passes away at 69 can say that they took out some Social Security. If that same person had waited until turning 70, they wouldn’t have seen a penny in Social Security.
The program is set up where you have to essentially bet on how long you will live. People who think they will live past 90 will receive more money if they wait to take out Social Security until turning 70. However, if someone passes away at 75, it would have been better for that person to have taken out Social Security early.
Rob Walton is the oldest Walmart heir. He was born in 1944, which makes him 80 years old. He will turn 81 later this month.
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How The SSA Calculates Your Monthly Benefit
Your Social Security payout is based on how much you earned during your 35 most productive years. After that number, the program considers inflation and your lifetime earnings.
Rob Walton qualifies for the maximum Social Security benefit due to the amount of money he put into the system. However, he isn’t receiving higher Social Security benefits than someone who put in $500,000 per year. Social Security benefits have limits.
How Much Walmart’s Heir Earns From Social Security
Rob Walton was a top earner, and assuming he started to take out Social Security at 70, he’s receiving the maximum benefit. According to the SSA, the maximum Social Security benefit was $5,108 this year. It’s not life-changing money for the billionaire, especially when you consider he’s receiving far more than that each quarter from Walmart’s dividend payouts.
Social Security isn’t the best retirement program if you have nothing else to your name. It’s important to build a nest egg and practice financial discipline so you can still live a good life in retirement instead of having to penny pinch your way to the finish line.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much Is the Billionaire Walmart Heir’s Social Security Check?
