The initial wave of January’s Social Security payments, worth up to $4,873 for top earners who retire at 70, will go out to the first group of retirees in two days.

Retired seniors born between the 1st and 10th of a month will receive their first payment of 2024 on Wednesday. Those born on or after the 11th of a month will receive their payments in one of the two later disbursements, which will be released on Jan. 17 and Jan. 24.

Recipients’ age at the time of retirement, the amount paid into Social Security, and the number of years paid into Social Security all affect the maximum payment retirees can receive. However, payments largely depend on the age at which recipients retire.

The highest amount that a senior who retires at 70 can get is $4,873 per month. The youngest age of retirement is 62, but those who retire at 62 can only receive up to $2,710 a month in 2024. If people retire at the full retirement age of 67 in 2024, their maximum benefit is $3,822, according to the Social Security Administration.

Recipients will see a 3.2% increase in their checks for 2024 compared to their monthly payments in 2023. The boost is part of the annual cost-of-living adjustment, which was announced in October.

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The totals are expected to shrink unless Congress takes action to prevent it. Analysts estimate the SSA will no longer be able to give out full payments to recipients as early as 2034 due to a rising number of retirees and a declining number of workers.

Beneficiaries can see a personalized estimate of what they can expect each month through the SSA’s calculator.