Make the Most of Social Security

Everyone wants to retire comfortably. However, doing that is a lot easier if you know how to maximize your social security income. The real key to making the most out of social security is knowing when to start claiming it. If you time things right, you could end up bringing in a lot more retirement income.

First things first, just because you can claim social security doesn’t mean you should. People can

typically start claiming their social security income once they reach the age of 62. However, for the average American, that’s much too early to actually start claiming. Even if you do actually retire by this age, it’s still smart to put off claiming.     

The reason is that social security benefits get reduced by about one percent each month for the first thirty-six months they’re collected. So, the sooner you start collecting, the sooner you start getting hit with reductions.

Your marital status and your spouse’s age also play a role in when you should start collecting funds. If you can live off of one’s spouse’s funds for a while and then wait until later to start collecting the other spouse’s, you’ll typically wind up with a lot more in the long run.

The bottom line is that when a person should claim is dependent on a wide range of factors, including whether or not that person is able to support himself somehow without a job and without social security benefits. Since the best claiming time varies from individual to individual, it’s important to work with a savvy financial advisor long before it’s time to consider claiming social security benefits. The right advisor can help you to “strike when the iron is hot,” so to speak, and to maximize your benefits.

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