If you're at least 62 years of age or will be reaching that age in 2023, you'll be eligible to sign up for Social Security this year.
Now, if you sign up before having reached full retirement age (FRA), your benefits will be reduced. FRA kicks in at 66, 67, or somewhere in between, depending on your year of birth. But you can file for benefits nonetheless.
Before you do, though, you should know that a couple of simple moves could make it possible to snag a higher monthly benefit -- for life.
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1. Delay your claim
Let's say you start off 2023 already being eligible for Social Security. Unless you've reached the age of 70, for each month you hold off on signing up for benefits, the higher your monthly benefits will be.
So, let's say you're 65 years old, which means you haven't yet reached FRA. You may be thinking of leaving your job in 2023 and filing for Social Security, since you'll also be eligible for health coverage under Medicare at that point.
But if you claim Social Security at 65 and three months, as opposed to 65 on the nose, your monthly Social Security benefit will be more generous. So if you're able to delay your claim by a few months, it pays to do so.
Now the one exception here, as briefly mentioned, is if you're already 70 years of age. If that's the case, you do not want to delay your Social Security filing at all.
Once you turn 70, you can't get any financial benefit out of a delayed filing. All you'll do in that case is force yourself to wait on money you're entitled to.
But if you haven't yet arrived at your 70th birthday, it does pay to consider holding off on a Social Security filing as long as you can. This especially holds true if you're not all that secure in your nest egg and worry about your savings running out on you at some point during retirement.
2. Review your most recent earnings statement before you file
Each year, the Social Security Administration issues workers an earnings statement. Yours should contain a summary of your wages as well as an estimate of your monthly Social Security benefit.
But what if that wage information isn't correct? If your recent income was underreported, it could leave you with a smaller Social Security benefit than you're actually entitled to. And so before you file for benefits, make sure the earnings information on record for you is accurate -- and correct a mistake that's apt to work against you.
Filing for Social Security in 2023 may be a smart move, depending on your age, your finances, and where you are in your career. But delaying your claim by even a few months and reviewing your earnings record thoroughly could make it so you're able to get more from Social Security -- and lock in a higher benefit that could lend to added financial stability throughout your retirement.
