One of many financial decisions you need to make when you get ready to retire is going to be when to begin collecting your Social Security retirement income. There are various questions involved with this decision, which include:. One of the most important decisions you must make is when to start receiving your Social Security benefits. The various questions you may want to contemplate include:
What is the preferred age to begin your Social Security retirement benefits?
When should your spouse apply for their benefits? Here are some suggestions to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement income you are entitled to:
Increase Your Social Security Earnings:
Your Social Security retirement benefits is calculated on your top 35 years of income thus it is advisable to get as many "high earning" years in as you possibly can. For this reason, staying at work for even one year longer at a high compensating position could make a big difference in your retirement benefit.
Postpone Receiving Your Social Security Retirement Benefits:
You are penalized for every month you collect your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age, with the maximum penalty being 25% in the event where you start collecting benefits at age 62. Despite the fact that beginning your benefits earlier may be attractive, those people who are patient can improve their Social Security income by as much as 30% (this includes inflation increases) by waiting until full retirement age.
Work Part-Time While in Retirement:
While you are limited in how much you are able to get paid when you're below full retirement age and collecting Social Security, after you attain full retirement age you can make as much as you desire without your retirement benefits being penalized. Yet another strategy would be to take a part-time job when you finally retire so that you can delay taking Social Security benefits.
Collect Based upon Your Spouse's Income:
If you are married, you are able to collect Social Security spousal benefits based on your own earnings, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is bigger. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you will need to do some planning to make certain you maximize your benefits, but this may possibly be a strategy to take into account if one spouse earns a lot more than the other, or perhaps if one spouse has been out of the work force for quite some time.
Draw on Your Ex's Benefits:
The spousal benefit refers 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 another person, you'll be able to collect as much as 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. You don't have to communicate with your ex-spouse to claim your benefits; in reality they may never know unless you inform them, and it won't have an effect on their benefits in the slightest.
These are just a couple of guidelines to help you increase your Social Security benefits. Receiving your Social Security benefits can be a very complex decision and can have an impact on the rest of your retirement, so make sure you contact a professional before you make any decisions yourself.
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