When you were a hard worker, you’ve been contributing to the Social Security fund for a long time, so now you have a good reason to boost your well deserved payout. Try the following strategies to make the most of your Social Security payments:
1. Work for at least thirty-five years
As you probably know, you can be eligible for Social Security benefits after having a job for just as little as ten years and you can actually begin collecting your Social Security benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70.
The amount of benefit is practically based on the average of your thirty-five peak earning years. However, if you work less than thirty-five years, those zeros are averaged in, leading to a decrease in your payout.
So, it’s quite simple: the more you earn, the higher your benefit will be. But there are some barriers you should take into consideration. The maximum monthly benefits for this year are $2,265 for those who retire at age 62, $3,011 for those who retire at the highest normal pension age of 66 and $3,790 for those who retire at age 70.