There's a good chance you'll end up depending a lot on your Social Security benefits to cover your retirement expenses. Even if you bring a decent chunk of savings into retirement with you, that money may not last as long as you'd expect. Social Security, however, will pay you a monthly benefit for the rest of your life.
But what if you're not happy with what your monthly benefit looks like? If you filed for Social Security before reaching your full retirement age (FRA), you may have slashed your benefit substantially, leaving you with less monthly income to look forward to.
Generally speaking, the Social Security benefit you start off collecting is the same monthly benefit you can look forward to for life -- not counting the annual cost-of-living adjustments benefits are subject to. But if you employ one lesser-known trick, you can score yourself a higher monthly benefit -- even if you're already collecting Social Security.
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You get a second chance
It's a good idea to file for Social Security strategically to avoid regrets later on. But if you claimed benefits early and are now stuck with a lower monthly payment, there's one option you can look into.
If it's been less than 12 months since you filed for Social Security, you can undo your filing and sign up for Social Security again at a later point in time -- ideally, at FRA or beyond in order to snag a more generous payday. To pull this off, however, you'll also need to repay the Social Security Administration every dollar in benefits it paid you within 12 months of receipt.
If you've already spent your benefits and don't have any savings to pull from, this may not be an option. But if you still have that money and can send it back, you'll carve out an opportunity to claim Social Security at an age that will result in a higher monthly benefit for life. Keep in mind, though, that this second-chance option is something you can only take advantage of once in your lifetime.
So, say you file for benefits at age 62 and regret it six months later when you see how small those monthly checks are. You can, at that point, withdraw your claim and repay half a year's worth of Social Security payments. From there, you can wait until your FRA to file for a higher benefit (or choose another age that will produce a similar result).
It may not be too late to salvage your retirement
Locking in too low a Social Security benefit could be disastrous for your senior years -- especially if you don't have a lot of money sitting in your nest egg to supplement your Social Security income. If you filed for Social Security too soon, it pays to see if it's possible to pursue a do-over. Going this route could set you up for a more financially stable retirement and help you avoid a world of stress as you age and your nest egg dwindles down.
