Best Social Security Strategies: Get The Benefits You Deserve

Social Security plays an integral role in the quality of life for retirees.

According to Prudential, Social Security accounts for about 40 percent of the total retirement income for U.S. seniors. What else do older Americans rely on? Individual investments and traditional pensions used to make up some of the balance. But these have all but disappeared.

AARP offers an online Social Security calculator to help you explore options. This is a great starting place for making decisions. Can you afford to ‘retire early’ and start getting benefits at 62? Should you wait until full retirement age? Can you postpone until you’re 70 and get the largest monthly benefit? Working with the online calculator, you can figure out how much you’d receive at different ages.

Naturally, you want to get the most from all the years you paid into the system. Here are 5 innovative strategies to help you maximize your benefits.

Many experts advise waiting until you reach full retirement or longer to start collecting benefits. Retirees often believe that they could never make up the total difference between waiting to collect benefits at their full retirement age and collecting early, which reduces the amount of money received monthly.

For example, people born in 1953 or earlier can retire with full benefits at age 66, but can begin early payments as young as 62. That's four years of regular payments. The fact is, however, they could nearly double their monthly income if they wait to retire until age 70. Benefits increase by 8 percent for every year following full retirement age; cost of living raises also apply.

If you have enough income from other sources, aim for waiting. Waiting to collect can make a substantial difference in the monthly income you ultimately receive.

Retirees move into a higher tax bracket when their income reaches a certain point. In 2019 and 2020, for example, 50 percent of Social Security income was taxed if retirees meet an income threshold of $25,000 for singles and $32,000 for married couples. That percentage jumps to 85 percent when the combined income from both Social Security and investment withdrawals reaches $34,000 for singles and $44,000 for couples.

If it works with your situation, wait until after the age of 70 to collect Social Security. Postpone or avoid those high tax brackets. Draw on investment accounts for living expenses. You can start drawing money from private investment accounts when you are 59.5 with no penalty.

The IRS helps tax payers by offering software and a worksheet to calculate Social Security tax liability.

While you're still working, many experts advise making a move. You should consider moving your 401K and traditional IRA funds into a Roth IRA. You'll pay taxes on the money you move, which can be absorbed into your current year's tax bill. Spread the withdrawals over as many years as you can to reduce the tax hit.

By removing the taxable portion of your investments, you won't get hit with the large tax bill when you least expect it - after you retire and begin collecting Social Security.

Consult your accountant or tax specialist for recommendations that match your income and investments.

Seniors who need the income early may decide to work part time to supplement their lower monthly payments and not have to work as hard.

For example, in 2019, you could earn up to $18,240 per year ($1,520 per month) without the income affecting your Social Security payment. For every $2 you earn over that amount, your Social Security benefit is reduced by $1.

Once you reach full retirement age, there is no cap on the amount you can earn. Benefits are not reduced at all. As of 2020, you can earn any amount and not be affected by the social security earnings test, once you reach full retirement age, or FRA. At this time, this is age 66, if you were born between 1943 and 1954 and will gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1960 and later.

Older adults are joining the gig economy to make their Social Security benefits go further. Options range from driving to contract work to seasonal gigs. If you’ve been thinking about adding some social interactions to your life, this can be a great way to find meaning, make friends—and make some extra cash.

Many seniors are working gig jobs such as driving for Lyft or Uber. Others are using their homes or remodeling garages to create AirBnb income. Still others are doing seasonal work such as contract jobs in their career areas of expertise.

The #1 Key Idea here: Know Your Options.

By exploring options and strategies, you can create different financial scenarios for your life after retirement.