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The Easy Way to get more Social Security - Motley Fool
Here’s an important fact – Social Security will not replace more than 40% of the income you had before you retired, so unless you plan to drastically scale back on your living expenses after you retire (and for most that is not the case), you would be wise to make your Social Security payment be as much as it can be. How to do that? Well, it’s actually fairly easy, but it requires some pre-retirement planning to accomplish – simply wait beyond your full retirement age (FRA) to claim your benefits. Consider this:
- You don’t get 100% of the benefit you’ve earned from a lifetime of working until you reach your full retirement age (your FRA depends on your year of birth).
- If you wait beyond your FRA to claim, y our benefit will continue to grow for each month you delay, up to age 70 when your maximum benefit is attained. Your age 70 benefit will be 24% to 32% more than your FRA amount, depending on your FRA.
True, not everyone can afford to wait beyond their full retirement age to claim but, if you can, your reward – in terms of your monthly benefit amount and likely cumulative benefits – will be significant, as explained by Maurie Backman in this Motley Fool Article.