Bad planning or lack of it can prevent you from having a great Social Security check. Retirement should be a peaceful time with no money issues.
That is why you should know the four things that can prevent you from getting the largest Social Security retirement benefit payments in the USA in 2024. If you really want to make a difference, pay close attention now.
Early retirement can slash your Social Security payments
The earlier you file for Social Security retirement benefits, the bigger the reduction will be. The Administration claims that if you file at 62, this cut could be approximately 30%. The thing is not all citizens can afford this cut and many ignore it exists.
On the contrary, those citizens who prefer to delay retirement until they are 70 years old could get extra money. This extra money will definitely make a difference since it could be up to 24% extra per month. This reward will be vital for those with the lowest incomes.
Bear in mind that the only way to get 100% of your benefits is by filing at Full Retirement Age. That is 66 and 8 months in 2024. This FRA will continue increasing until it reaches 67 for those workers who were born in 1960.
3 additional tips to increase your Social Security
If what you really want is a larger retirement benefit payment, you should delay retirement until you are 70 and work for 35 years at least.
In this way, you will have the number of years Social Security uses to work out the benefit amount you will get as a retiree.
One of the last 2 tips to make your retirement benefits bigger are to have jobs covered by SSA. If you do, make sure your employer pays the right amount and report any mistakes to SSA.
Finally, you should have a higher salary or wage. The more taxes you pay to SSA the better. That is why high earners who work for 35 years and file at 70 can claim up to $4,873 in 2024. If you do not achieve these 4 things, your benefits will decrease.