Strategies to Maximize your Social Security Benefits

W hen you stop working at retirement age, you will claim your social security benefits from the department of Internal Revenue Services. However, the ultimate amount you get from your social security kitty is depends on several factors, which is why you need to devise smart strategies to help you maximize the amount you get at fu retirement age. Here are some points to observe: You reap according to what you sow: the final amount you receive from your social security package depends on your average indexed monthly earnings for thirty-five years in which your earnings were at their highest. To arrive at the correct number, the administration at social security department simply takes your earnings for each month in the 35 years and then adjusts them by a given index. The more you saved during those years, the higher you earn in return. Delay your retirement period: by delaying your retirement by some years, you actually increases the amount you will get from your social security kitty. Better still, you can claim you r benefits at full retirement age than claiming earlier, which takes a percentage from the actual amount. If you wait longer, your benefits increase at an annual rate by 8% for three years until you reach age 70. This provides a better opportunity to increase your final social security benefits if you can have other sources to support your life before you can claim your benefits at full retirement age or later at 70 years. Utilize spousal benefit: spousal benefit can help you up to a half of your spouse’s benefit such that at the time you reach full retirement, if your spouse’s benefit is less than half of yours, then you become eligible for spousal benefits offered by social security department. Matters relating social security benefits are always tricky, which is why you need to keep abreast with the services of a financial planner to help you go about your strategies. With careful planning, you are able to maximize your returns from social security package.