How To Increase Your Social Security Payments
As you likely know, the sum of your Social Security payments largely depends on your employment history, your age, and the amount of dependents you have. However, contrary to popular belief, it is possible to increase your social security payments as long as you make the right decisions. Here are a few tips that will help you do just that.
Retire Late
If you want to maximize the social security payments that you will receive, it's best that you retire later rather than earlier. In fact, you should strive to work for at least 35 years before you retire from the workforce. Social security benefits are based on the 35 years in which you earned the most money. Therefore, if you retire before you reach 35 years in the workforce, there will be zeros included in the calculation. Due to these zeros, your social security payments will likely be far lower than they could have been. Overall, if you're thinking about retiring soon, consider working for a few more years until you reach 35 years in the workforce.
Be Patient
Another way you can maximize your social security payments is by waiting to claim your social security benefits until you reach your full retirement age. Most current workers need to wait until they're 66 or 67 to claim social security and get their full payments. Social security payouts are automatically and permanently reduced for people who make the decision to claim social security early.
Therefore, if you're serious about maximizing your social security payments, then you should work until your retirement age before claiming social security. For some people, this may actually work to their advantage, as they may end up achieving 35 years in the workforce by waiting until they're 66 or 67 to claim social security.
If you have no qualms with waiting, you should consider claiming social security at the age of 70. After your full retirement age, social security payments will increase each year that you delay claiming. The payment increases will cease once you reach the age of 70. Of course, waiting until the age of 70 to claim social security is definitely not a decision that is suitable for everyone, but it is definitely something to consider.
As you can see, there are many things you can do to increase your social security payments. Follow the tips above and you will probably experience no issues maximizing your social security payments. If you have more questions about getting the money you need, contact a social security lawyer.