Social Security Income: Guidelines To Help You Get The Most Out Of Your Social Security Income

There are plenty of decisions to consider, both emotionally and financially, as you prepare to retire. One of the most important choices you need to make is at what age to start collecting your Social Security retirement benefits. A few of the questions you may want to contemplate include:

What's the ideal age to start your Social Security retirement income?

At what age should your spouse start collecting Social Security?

Will you receive your spouse's benefits if he/she dies before you?

Should you apply for benefits based on your earnings or your spouses earnings?

Are you able to collect on an ex-spouse's benefits?

In case your mind wasn't spinning before, it is now! Here are some tips to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement income you are entitled to:

Increase Your Social Security Income:

Your Social Security retirement benefits is calculated on your highest 35 years of earnings hence it's important to get as many "high earning" years in as possible. For this reason, staying at work for even one year more in a significant paying job might make a big difference in your retirement income.

Postpone Collecting Your Social Security Income:

Social Security penalizes you for every month you take your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age, with the highest penalty being 25% if where you start collecting benefits at age 62. Despite the fact that collecting your benefits early could be tempting, those who are patient can increase their Social Security income by as much as 30% (this includes COLA increases) simply by waiting until full retirement age.

Work Part-Time During Retirement:

While you're limited in how much you are able to get paid while you are under full retirement age and receiving Social Security, as soon as you reach full retirement age you'll be able to earn as much as you desire without your retirement benefits being penalized. Yet another thought could be to take a part-time job once you retire so that you can delay collecting Social Security benefits.

Apply for Benefits Based upon Your Husband or Wife's Earnings:

When you're married, you can withdraw Social Security spousal benefits based on your own earnings, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is greater. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you may want to do some planning to ensure you get the maximum benefits, but this is definitely a strategy to think about if one spouse earns a lot more compared to the other, or even if one spouse has been away from the work force for several years.

Tap Into Your Ex's Benefits:

The spousal benefit pertains to ex-spouses too. If you were married to your ex-spouse for a minimum of 10 years, and you also are not currently married to somebody else, you are able to collect up to 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. You don't have to contact your ex-spouse to apply for your benefits; in reality they will probably never learn unless you tell them, also it won't have an effect on their own benefits in the slightest.

These are a few suggestions to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefits. Withdrawing your Social Security retirement benefits can be a very complicated decision and can have an impact on the rest of your retirement, so you should check with a specialist before you make any decisions on your own.

Spousal Benefits: Applying For Social Security Benefits
Can a spouse collect on her husband's social security if she reaches retirement age before her husband? No. In order for a wife to collect Social Security benefits on her husband's earnings the following requirements must be met:

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