How To Increase Your Social Security Retirement Benefits - Continued

Have someone contact you to discuss ways to increase your Social Security retirement benefits.

the business, at least take wages up to the Social Security earnings maximum for the year, if at all possible.  Note that this can result in paying more taxes.

Work As Long As You Can

You are penalized for starting Social Security benefits before your normal retirement age.  You are rewarded for starting Social Security benefits after the normal retirement age.

Most think that the normal retirement age is 65.  If you were born in 1938, the normal retirement age is 65 and 2 months.  If you were born after 1959, the normal retirement age is 67.  This is nothing new. These retirement ages have been around since 1983.

You could retire as early as age 62.  You pay a price for doing that.  This permanently reduces your Social Security benefits for future years.  For the first 36 months of early retirement you permanently lose about .56% per month. For additional months of early retirement, you lose about .42% per month.

To increase your Social Security benefits, you can delay taking Social Security through age 70.  Your benefit will increase, depending on your date of birth.  For those turning 62 after 2004, there is an 8% yearly increase in benefits for each year retirement is delayed beyond the normal Social Security retirement date.  There is no percentage benefit to delaying retirement beyond age 70.

The other benefit for working longer is the possibility of replacing a low earnings year with a high earnings year to improve the AIME.

Warning: How much have you maximized your Social Security retirement benefits if you work...

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