14 Ways to Get Bigger Checks From Social Security

If you have focused all your retirement planning energy on your 401(k), you may be missing a key piece of the puzzle: Social Security.

You can influence your eventual payout from this safe, dull, old-age safety net to a surprising degree by making some adjustments and changes in your planning.

The time to get started pumping up your Social Security checks is now, even if you’ve got decades to go before retirement. Here are some ways to do just that.

1. Work More Years

You must work at least 10 years to collect Social Security. The size of your benefit checks is decided by a formula that is based on your 35 highest-earning years of work. If you didn’t work 35 years, the formula uses zeros for the missing years. Zero years lower your benefits, so add as many more years of work as you can.

SocialSecurity.gov explains the details and shows how benefits are calculated.

2. Avoid Claiming Too Early

The age at which you start collecting Social Security makes a big difference in the size of your checks. You can start as early as age 62, but your checks will be forever 25 percent to 30 percent less than you’re due, depending on when you were born. And if you die first, your spouse’s Social Security survivor benefits will be smaller than if you’d waited.

Some people have no choice. Many retirees stop work earlier than they planned because of illness or unemployment, or to be caregivers. In that case, try to use other sources of income if possible, so you can hold off claiming until you’re older.

3. Aim for Full Retirement Age

Social Security calculates monthly checks based on your “full retirement age.” That’s when you are eligible for 100 percent of your Social Security benefit.

Full retirement age varies: It’s age 66 for people born from 1943 to 1954, increasing gradually to 67 for those born after 1959. To get all the benefits you can, use this Social Security calculator to find your full retirement age and plan your retirement around it.

The longer you wait, the larger your checks and cost-of-living adjustments, which are based on your monthly checks. Waiting to age 70 is even better than collecting at your full retirement age. But more on that later.

4. Raise Your Income

Doing what you can do now to grow your income will fatten your Social Security checks in the future. Use the Social Security Retirement Estimator to see the effects of more income on your benefits. The estimator taps into your personal work history to give a reasonably accurate estimate of benefits.

Some ways to boost your income:

Focus on regular raises. Assess your value at work and approach your employer the smart way.
Consider changing employers if your salary has topped out at your current job.
Plan for professional growth, including evaluating whether more schooling would be worth the cost, or whether you should enter a new line of work.

5. Go for the Gold

The average Social Security check for 2016 is $1,341 for those who collect at full retirement age, according to the Social Security Administration. But you may be able to do better — much better.

Planning ahead counts. Use the Social Security Retirement Estimator to see what you’d need to do — such as retire later or earn more now — to max out your eventual monthly benefit.

6. Hold On Until Age 70

Delaying Social Security as long as possible is not for everyone. If you have reason to believe you won’t live long, perhaps you should collect early. But the value of waiting beyond full retirement age and collecting at age 70 is obvious in this example from the SSA:
The maximum benefit depends on the age you retire. For example, if you retire at full retirement age in 2016, your maximum benefit would be $2,787.80. However, if you retire at age 62 in 2016, your maximum benefit would be $2,102. If you retire at age 70 in 2016, your maximum benefit would be $3,576.

There’s no benefit, though, in waiting past age 70. Learn the facts of your case by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213. Or find an office near you and pay a visit.

7. Get Professional Help

In many instances an informed decision about when to claim which Social Security benefits can boost benefits by tens of thousands of dollars over your lifetime, especially for couples.

Various companies will prepare a customized analysis revealing exactly when to claim Social Security benefits to receive the maximum lifetime payout.

Because the claiming strategies for couples can be complex, an inexpensive analysis showing the exact dates when each of you should claim could be well worth the cost.

8. Look Into Spousal Benefits

Married people have an advantage in the Social Security system. Even a spouse who never worked can claim benefits. Married people can receive half their spouse’s Social Security benefit, and that may be more than they’ll make on their own.

Divorced people (here are the rules) married 10 years or longer qualify, too. Here is the SSA explanation of same-sex couples’ benefits and rights.

To get spousal benefits you must be at least 62 and your spouse, the primary worker earner (government jargon for the one with the biggest benefit), must be receiving Social Security checks or be eligible for them.

9. Pump Up Your Spouse’s Survivor Benefit

When you die, your Social Security benefits end. But your widow or widower may earn survivor benefits, possibly as much as half of your full retirement amount. The bigger your benefit, the more your spouse will receive when you’re gone. So do all you can now to increase your benefit checks.

10. Weigh the Cost of Working While Claiming Benefits

The government reduces your Social Security checks by $1 for every $2 you earn if you start your benefits before full retirement age and make more than a specific amount, which is $15,720 in 2016. (The penalty stops on earnings above $41,880.)

See the rules to weigh the pros and cons of working while collecting Social Security. You might decide it’s better to hold off collecting, given the penalty and the fact that your benefits will keep growing while untouched. And, remember: You’ll get all the money back in bigger checks after you hit full retirement age, the SSA says.

11. Watch Out for Taxes

If your only income in retirement is from Social Security, you probably won’t have to worry about paying income tax. But if you have additional income from other sources, try to reduce your total income to minimize the tax bite. Depending on your income, up to 85 percent of your benefits can be taxed.

Taxes are based on your combined income: your adjusted gross income plus half of your Social Security benefit plus non-taxable interest. The SSA explains in detail.

If combined income is more than $34,000 ($44,000 for couples), as much as 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable. You can reduce your tax bill in retirement by cutting expenses so you need less income and choosing investments with an eye to reducing taxes.

12. Pay Off Debts

Certain debts — including federal taxes, child support or alimony and federal student loan balances — can be garnished from Social Security checks. Pay them off before retirement so you can keep your entire benefit check.

13. Check for Errors

Keep an eye out for your Social Security statement in the mail each year or find your statement online. Look it over to ensure your income is reported correctly. Get credit for every penny you’ve earned to boost your eventual benefit checks. It’s also a good time to remember to check your credit scores and credit reports. You can see your free credit scores once a month on Credit.com.

14. Collect Benefits for Minor Children

Once you start collecting benefits, your unmarried dependent children 18 or younger can receive benefits too. Biological children, adopted children, stepchildren and grandchildren are eligible, as are full-time high-school students aged 18 to 19 and children disabled before age 22.