If you're approaching retirement, now's a good time to learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits. Some little-known strategies could boost your household’s benefits, whether you live alone or still have minor children at home. Here are six ways to get the most out of your retirement benefits.

1. Don’t Take the SSA’s Advice at Face Value

Going straight to the source seems like a great way to get accurate information about the best time to file for Social Security. But it isn't always the case.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) representative you talk to might have good intentions when they offer advice about your specific circum♎stances. However, because this person may be overworked and undertrained, they might give you incorrect information. And it could cost you tens of thousands of dollars throughout your retirement.

In addition t﷽o asking the SSA for advice, you’d be wise to consult with at least one financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning to get a complete picture of your options before you make a decision.ജ

2. Withdraw Your Social Security Application

Here’s one opportunity to reverse a claiming decision you regret. If you’re within the first 12 months of claiming and you have enough cash available, you can withdraw your application and repay all the benefits you’ve received so far.

If you do, “then it is like you never claimed in the first place,” says Arthur Prunier, a retirement income certified professional® instructor at thꦅe .

“Lots of people file for Social Security without fully understanding the consequences,” he explains. “For example, many people choose to claim Social Security before full retirement age, but later wish they had not done so.”

After repaying what you received, you can claim a tax refund or credit for any taxes you paid on those benefits.

3. Suspend Your Social Security Benefits

When you reach full retirement age (age 67 if you were born in 1960 or later), you can voluntarily suspend your Social Security benefits. Doing so will boost your future benefits—and you don’t need to repay the benefits you’ve already received. Here’s an example from Prunier that illustrates why you might want to voluntarily sus🌟pend your benefits after full retirement age.ꩲ

Chaman started receiving Social Security benefits at age 63. Their full retirement age is 66, and their full monthly benefit is $1,000. Because they began receiving benefits 36 months early, their monthly benefit was reduced to $800. At age 65, Chaman decides it was a mistake to have started their benefits early. But more than 12 months have elapsed since starting benefits, so they can’t withdrawꦅ their application.

All is not lost. Chaman can file to voluntarily suspend their benefits at age 66. For each month of suspension, Chama𒅌n will earn delayed retirement🥃 credits worth two-thirds of 1% per month—or 8% per year.

If they wait until age 70 to resume their Social Security benefits, the strategy will increase their monthly benefit by two-thirds of 1% for 48 months, or 32%. Their former monthly benefit of $800 would in𓃲crease to $1,056.

4. Maximize Your Household Benefits

If you have a spouse or minor children, you should consider how your 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:claiming strategy affects them. This migh🍌t mean using a different benefit strategy than the one you’d use to maximize your own benefit pa🐲yment.

How else might you maximize your household’s Social Security benefits? The oft-heard advice is to postpone claiming until age 70 if you can afford to. But that may not be the best option if you’re in your 60s and still have minor children at home—not uncommon in blended families. In this scenario, you might 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:receive more benefits in the long r🐼un by claiming at a younger age so you can receive dependent benefits.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:dependent child benefit is equal to half of the claiming parent’s full retirement benefit, even if the parent claims early. The younger spouse may also be eligible for a 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:spousal benefit. These additional benefits may offset the lower benefit you receive by filing early.

Factors that affect this decision include:

• The number of children who are in the household
• How long it will be until they turn 18 (or 19, if they're full-time students)
• The amount of your spouse’s benefit
• The age gap between the spouses (survivor benefits are permanently reduced if you claim early)

5. Know Every Benefit You’re Entitled to

The Social Security Administration doesn’t just pay retirement benefits directly to the worker who earned them. It also pays survivor benefits, divorced survivor benefits, spousal benefits, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:divorced spousal benefits, child benefits, and a few other types of benefits. But because Social Security doesn’t inform individuals when they become eligible for these benefits, you could miss out onꦓ benefits if you aren’t proactive.

Here’s another exampl﷽e from Prunier. The surviving spousal benefit and the worker’s benefit ඣare treated as two separate benefits. A person who lost their spouse before retirement may have the opportunity to receive a survivor benefit first, then switch to their own retirement benefit later, or vice versa.

“With a modest worker benefit and retirement at age 62, for example, one might take a reduced worker benefit at 62 and d🌠efer the larger widow’s benefit to full retirement age in order to get a♔n unreduced benefit,” says Prunier. 

“Or, if one is still𝓰ౠ working and the worker benefit after deferral credits will exceed the survivor benefit, one can claim the survivor benefit at full retirement age and switch to the worker benefit at 70.”

However, Prunier also warns you should remember that for all “unusual” approaches to boosting Social Security benefits, signi🦹ficant restrictions or exceptions may apply. Anyone thinking about taking advantage of these approaches should always ask themselves:

• Do I understand which restrictions apply?
• Do I fulfill all the requirements to take advantage of this approach?
• Could there be unintended consequences with this approach?

6. Use a Good Calculator

A good calculator can help you crunch the numbers and find the strategy that works best for your situation. Social Security 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:has plenty of helpful calculators, ranging from simple to sophisticated. Here is another option worth checking out: ($40 per year)🃏.

The Bottom Line

Social Security benefits are an essential part of any retirement plan. You’re entitled to them if you or your spouse have earned 40 credits by paying into the system for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:at least 10 years. You should absolutely try to max out your payback within the law’s parameters.

Unfortunately, your options for maxing out your benefits are often poorly publicized by the Social Security Administration. And even asking an agency 💞representative to assist you personally may result in subpar advice—and lost benefits.

That’s why it’s essential to educate yourself about the ಞavailable benefits and filing strategies. Run through various scenarios with a financial planner and an advanced Social Securit🥃y calculator before actually filing. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to claim your benefits in a way that’s most likely to provide the maximum return for your household.