There's a good chance Social Security will end up being an important income stream for you once your career comes to an end. So it's helpful to get as much money out of your monthly benefits as you can.
Your Social Security benefits are based on your personal earnings history. But there are steps you can take to boost them. Here's what you can do to get more Social Security this year.
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1. Delay your claim past full retirement age
Full retirement age is when you're entitled to your monthly Social Security benefits without a reduction. It's 67 if you were born in 1960 or later.
But you're allowed to delay your Social Security claim past full retirement age. And for each year you do, until you turn 70, your benefits get an automatic 8% boost. There's perhaps no easier way to lock in a larger retirement paycheck each month.
Just keep in mind that by delaying your claim, you run the risk of shorting yourself on lifetime Social Security benefits if you don't end up living very long past your 70th birthday. If your health isn't in the best shape, you may not want to employ this strategy.
2. Check your earnings statement
The Social Security Administration (SSA) relies on reported income to calculate your retirement benefits. This means if you have underreported income, it could result in smaller benefits than what you should be getting.
There's a pretty simple way to avoid that scenario. Create an account on the SSA's website and check your earnings record. If you see income that wasn't reported correctly in the past, you'll have an opportunity to contact the SSA and work with them to get your income history updated.
3. Work later in life to replace some $0 income years
When we talk about Social Security benefits being based on your work history, what that really means is that the SSA takes your 35 highest-paid years of income into account in its formula. What this means is that if you don't have 35 years of income as part of your work history, you'll have a $0 factored in for each year you're missing a record of earnings.
One thing you should know, though, is that income earned later in life could count toward your Social Security benefits -- even if you've already claimed them. So if you're able to work part-time in retirement, you might replace a year of zero earnings with a year of small earnings, leading to larger Social Security checks once the SSA has a chance to factor that income in.
Getting more Social Security could boil down to claiming benefits strategically, reviewing your earnings record carefully, and working later in life. It pays to take these steps if you expect Social Security to be a key retirement income stream for you, or if you're looking to buy yourself more financial breathing room once your career wraps up.
