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Ever wonder how big Joe Biden’s Social Security check is? Take a look

September 5, 2022 | | Print Article

According to President Biden’s tax return for last year, the first couple received a whopping $4,555 a month in Social Security benefits alone which put them well above what the average retired American brings home each month.

And that doesn’t include all of their other streams of income.

Social Security just celebrated its 87th birthday. It was signed into law in August 1935 and payouts began on Jan. 1, 1940. It has become the safety net for more than 48 million retired Americans and many depend on a monthly check from the agency to survive. The average Social Security check is $1,670.95, according to The Motley Fool.

A Gallup poll reports that 89 percent of surveyed retirees count on Social Security as a “major” or “minor” source of income. That means only one in 10 Americans aren’t reliant on Social Security income to get by during retirement. The Bidens are in that group.

The reliance on Social Security has provided a ripe opportunity for Biden and the left to fearmonger over it.

The Biden household’s taxable income for last year was $568,412. Many believe that their income on or off the books far exceeded that amount but that is the official filing number.

According to Biden’s tax return, which was jointly filed with his wife Jill Biden, the figure denoting Social Security income can be found on line 6a of Form 1040.

The Motley Fool reports that “Last year, the Biden’s claimed $54,665 in Social Security income on a joint basis, which works out to about $4,555 each month. Even taking into account that this $4,555 figure is the combination of Joe’s and Jill’s monthly payout, this is well above what the average retired worker brings home each month from Social Security.”

“Furthermore, with the U.S. inflation rate hitting a more than four-decade high of 9.1% in June, the 2023 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for Social Security should be sizable — i.e., the largest in decades. Following a 5.9% COLA that was passed along to beneficiaries in 2022, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Biden’s taking home well in excess of $60,000 a year, jointly, from Social Security come their 2023 federal tax filing,” the outlet noted.

The private financial and investing advice company went on to delve deeper into the numbers.

“According to archived tax returns, the adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) for the Bidens fluctuated between $210,797 and $407,009 from 1998 through 2016. The president and his wife brought home a staggering $11,031,309 in 2017 and $4,580,437 in 2018, on a combined basis. In other words, the couple’s Social Security joint payout is actually quite small compared to what the duo brought home in AGI each year over a two-decade stretch,” the Motley Fool asserted.

The small payout is evidently due to Social Security capping monthly checks.

“To calculate a retired worker’s monthly check at full retirement age, the Social Security Administration will take an individual’s 35 highest-earning, inflation-adjusted years into account. Because the Bidens have earned so much over multiple decades, they’ve likely neared or achieved Social Security’s maximum monthly payout,” the outlet reported.

“In 2021, the maximum Social Security check for a worker at full retirement age was $3,148 a month. Whether you earned an average of $200,000 or $10 million annually over 35 years made no difference — $3,148 a month was the maximum monthly benefit at full retirement age in 2021,” it stated.

Then there is line 6b which lists taxable Social Security income for the Bidens as $45,465.

Many retirees are all too aware that their benefits are subject to taxation under certain circumstances. Taxation of some benefits began in 1984 after a sweeping overhaul of the program. The amendments subjected half of an individual’s Social Security income to federal taxation if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) plus one-half of benefits received surpassed $25,000 (or $32,000 for couples filing jointly).

Oh, but there’s more.

“A decade later, in 1993, President Clinton oversaw the addition of a second tier of taxation, which allowed up to 85% of an individual’s or couple’s Social Security payout to be taxed at the federal rate. The income threshold for this upper tier, using the same MAGI plus one-half benefits received formula, is $34,000 for individual filers and $44,000 for joint filers,” according to the Motley Fool.

The Bidens earn far more than the top-tier income threshold, which means they are subject to 85% of their Social Security income being taxed each year.

In closing, the Motley Fool noted, “Additionally, it’s worth pointing out that these income thresholds tied to the taxation of benefits have never been adjusted for inflation. As monthly Social Security checks have increased with inflation over time, more and more seniors are being exposed to some form of tax liability on their Social Security income. This is unlikely to change anytime soon.”

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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