Social Security Income: Recommendations To Help You Maximize Your Social Security Retirement Income
As you find yourself getting nearer to retirement, making a decision on the best time to start your Social Security retirement benefits may seem comparable to rolling the dice. There are many decisions to make, which include:
Is there a most advantageous age to begin your Social Security retirement income? When should your wife or husband apply for their benefits? Will you receive your spouse’s benefits if he/she dies before you? Should you apply for benefits based on your earnings or your spouses earnings? Is it possible to collect on an ex-spouse’s income?
If you didn’t have a 100 concerns about Social Security before, you should at this point! Here are some tips to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefit you are entitled to:
Maximize Your Social Security Earnings:
Your retirement benefit will depend on your highest 35 years of income which means it’s critical to get as many “high earning” years in as you possibly can. For this reason, continuing to work just one year more in a significant compensating job can make an impact in your retirement benefit.
Postpone Receiving Your Social Security Retirement Benefits:
Social Security penalizes you for each month you collect your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age, with the highest possible penalty being 25% if you begin collecting benefits at age 62. Despite the fact that starting your benefits earlier could be tempting, those who are patient can raise their Social Security income by approximately 30% (this includes cost of living increases) by waiting until full retirement age.
Work Part-Time During Retirement:
While you’re limited in the amount you are allowed to generate if you are under full retirement age and collecting Social Security, whenever you achieve full retirement age you are allowed to get paid as much income as you choose without your retirement benefits being decreased. One other suggestion is to get a part-time job after you retire so that you can postpone applying for Social Security benefits.
Apply for Benefits Based upon Your Husband or Wife’s Earnings:
When you’re married, it is possible to collect Social Security retirement benefits based on your earnings, or you could collect half of your spouse’s benefit, whichever is bigger. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you may need to do some planning to ensure you maximize your benefits, but this is definitely a technique to consider if one spouse makes substantially more compared to the other, or if one spouse has been out of the work force for quit some time.
Tap Into Your Ex Spouse’s Benefits:
The spousal benefit is true for ex-spouses too. If you were married to your ex-spouse for not less than 10 years, and you also are not presently married to someone else, you can collect up to 50% of your ex spouse’s benefits. You do not have to speak with your ex-spouse to claim your benefits; in reality they may never learn if you don’t advise them, plus it won’t affect their own benefits at all.
These are just a few guidelines to help you maximize your Social Security income. Receiving your Social Security retirement benefits can be an extremely difficult decision and can impact the rest of your retirement, so remember to seek advice from a professional prior to you making any decisions on your own.
Learn how to maximize your Social Security retirement benefits by visiting www.socialsecurityretirementincome.com
