Social Security Income: Ideas To Help You Get The Most Out Of Your Social Security Income


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As you get nearer to retirement living, deciding when to take your Social Security retirement benefits might seem much like rolling the dice. There are lots of decisions to make, including:. One of the biggest choices you've got to make is when to begin collecting your Social Security retirement benefits. Examples of the questions you may need to consider include:

Should you apply for Social Security at age 62 or 66, or even later?

At what age should your spouse start collecting Social Security?

What happens to your spouse's benefits (and yours) when he/she dies?

Should you apply for benefits based on your earnings or your spouses earnings?

Is it possible to collect on your ex-spouse's benefits?

If your head wasn't spinning before, it is now! Here are some suggestions to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement income you are entitled to:

Increase Your Social Security Earnings:

Your Social Security retirement benefits is based on your highest 35 years of salary thus it is critical to get as many "high earning" years in as you possibly can. For this reason, working just one year more at a high compensating job could create an impact in your retirement benefit.

Delay Collecting Your Social Security Retirement Benefits:

You are penalized for each month you take your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age, with the highest penalty being 25% in the event where you start taking benefits at age 62. While collecting your benefits earlier may be attractive, those who are willing to wait can boost their Social Security income by up to 30% (including cost of living increases) by holding out until full retirement age.

Work Part-Time During Retirement:

While you're restricted in how much you can earn while you are below full retirement age and collecting Social Security, when you finally achieve full retirement age you'll be able to make as much as you want without your retirement benefits being reduced. Yet another plan would be to get a part-time job once you retire and postpone collecting Social Security benefits.

Collect Based on Your Husband or Wife's Benefits:

If you are married, it is possible to apply for Social Security spousal benefits based on your income, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is larger. If you and your spouse aren't the same age, you may want to do some planning to make certain you maximize your benefits, however this is definitely a technique to take into consideration if one spouse earns significantly more compared to the other, as well as if one spouse has been out of the work force for quite a while.

Tap Into Your Ex Spouse's Benefits:

The spousal benefit refers to ex-spouses too. If you were married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years, and you are not presently married to another person, you may collect up to 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. It's not necessary to contact your ex-spouse to claim your benefits; in fact they may never know if you don't let them know, also it will not have an effect on their benefits in any way.

These are a few ways to help you increase your Social Security retirement income. Collecting your Social Security retirement benefits can be an extremely complicated decision and will affect the rest of your retirement, so you should seek advice from a professional prior to you making any decisions on your own.

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