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Social Security Benefits: Guidelines To Help You Make The Most Of Your Social Security Retirement Benefits

There are lots of choices to consider, both emotionally as well as financially, as you prepare to retire. One of the most important decisions you have to make is at what age to start receiving your Social Security benefits. Some of the questions you'll need to contemplate include:

What is the best age to start your Social Security retirement income?

When should your spouse apply for their benefits? Here are some tips to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement income you are entitled to:

Increase Your Social Security Income:

Your Social Security retirement benefits is calculated on your top 35 years of salary which means that you'll want to get as many "high earning" years in as possible. For this reason, continuing to work even one year longer at a good paying position could make a big difference in your retirement income.

Postpone Getting Your Social Security Retirement Income:

Social Security penalizes you for every month you collect your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age, with the maximum penalty being 25% if where you start collecting benefits at age 62. Despite the fact that starting your benefits earlier could be tempting, those people who are patient can increase their Social Security income by as much as 30% (this includes inflation increases) just by waiting until full retirement age.

Work Part-Time While in Retirement:

While you are limited in how much you are able to be paid when you are below full retirement age and receiving Social Security, as soon as you arrive at full retirement age you can earn as much as you choose without your retirement benefits being penalized. Another suggestion could be to take a part-time job whenever you retire so that you can delay collecting Social Security benefits.

Apply for Benefits Based upon Your Spouse's Benefits:

When you're married, you can receive Social Security spousal benefits based on your own earnings, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is greater. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you might need to do some planning to guarantee you get the maximum benefits, but this may possibly be a strategy to consider if one spouse earns a lot more than the other, and also if one spouse has been away from the work force for several years.

Draw on Your Ex's Benefits:

The spousal benefit applies to ex-spouses too. If you were married to your ex-spouse for a minimum of 10 years, and you also aren't presently married to somebody else, you are able to collect as much as 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. You don't have to contact your ex-spouse to apply for your benefits; in reality they may never find out unless you advise them, and it won't have an effect on their own benefits in the slightest.

These are just a few stategies to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefits. Applying for your Social Security benefits can be a very complicated decision and can have an impact on the rest of your retirement, so please work with a specialist before you make any decisions yourself.

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