Smart Ways To Get the Most From Your Social Security Benefits
Most people only make their Social Security claiming decision once. Get it wrong, and you can permanently leave money on the table. Get it right, and you can meaningfully improve your lifetime retirement income and reduce pressure on your savings.
Below are the core strategies experts focus on when helping people maximize their Social Security benefits.
Understand Your Personal “Break-Even” Age
The biggest decision is when to claim: as early as 62, at your Full Retirement Age (FRA), or as late as 70.
- Claiming before FRA reduces your monthly benefit.
- Waiting past FRA (up to age 70) increases it through delayed retirement credits.
To choose wisely, estimate your break-even age—the age at which the total payments from claiming later surpass those from claiming earlier. If you expect to live well into your 80s or beyond, delaying often produces more lifetime income, especially for the higher earner in a couple.
Coordinate as a Couple
For married couples, the goal is usually to maximize the higher earner’s benefit, because:
- That benefit sets the amount for spousal benefits.
- It often becomes the survivor benefit if the higher earner dies first.
A common approach:
- The lower earner may claim earlier for income.
- The higher earner delays, sometimes to 70, to lock in a larger lifetime and survivor benefit.
If divorced after a long marriage or widowed, explore divorced-spouse, divorced-survivor, or survivor benefits, which can be claimed without reducing what your own benefit later would be in many situations.
Work and Earnings Rules
If you claim before FRA and keep working, the earnings test can temporarily reduce your benefits if your wages exceed certain annual limits. These reductions are not lost forever; your benefit is recalculated at FRA. Still, if you plan to work and earn significantly before FRA, it may be more efficient to delay claiming.
Maximize Your Own Record
Your benefit is based on your highest 35 years of inflation-adjusted earnings. To strengthen your record:
- Consider working additional years if you have fewer than 35 years of earnings or many low-earning years.
- Understand that higher late-career earnings can replace lower earlier years in your benefit calculation.
Factor in Taxes and Other Income
Social Security may be taxable depending on your overall income. Coordinating when you claim with IRA withdrawals, pension income, and part-time work can lower your lifetime tax burden. Some retirees delay Social Security while drawing from savings, then claim later at a higher benefit.
Build a Simple, Personal Plan
To maximize Social Security, you need a claiming strategy, not just a claiming age. Clarify:
- Your health and family longevity.
- Whether you’ll work before or after claiming.
- How benefits interact with a spouse’s record and survivor needs.
- How Social Security fits into your broader retirement income plan.
A few well-considered decisions—especially around timing and coordination for couples—can turn Social Security from a basic check into a more powerful, reliable foundation for your retirement.