Thinking About Retiring? Maximize Your Social Security Benefits

Roughly 10,000 American Baby Boomers turn 65 every day. One important decision they’re facing is when to file for their Social Security benefits, because that can have a significant impact on the amount they receive. For example, if you retire before you reach full retirement age, you could reduce your benefit by as much as 30%. For every additional year you stay on the job until age 70, you could raise your benefit as much as 8%.

Married couples have the added responsibility to strategize to boost the benefit amounts they receive over time.  For example, one spouse may decide to file sooner or later based on both spouses’ lifetime earnings history and health situation.  Or, depending on how they coordinate their retirement planning, one spouse might start taking a spousal benefit based on the other’s earning before reaching full retirement age.

Before filing, research all the options so as to maximize the benefits and avoid the pitfalls.