United States Social Security benefits depend on many factors. But those monthly age or disability retirement checks are not the only thing to look at during the golden years. Beyond that, you also have to look at everything around the retiree himself or herself.
In this regard, individual finances will make a big difference in the retiree’s standard of living. Just getting a Social Security benefit is not enough in most cases. Even so, it is very common for a retiree to have only this source of income.
If we want to collect Social Security and not lose thousands of dollars in the process, we must plan well. And not just planning for the Social Security check, but planning in general, taking into account all the elements available.
Retirees can request a Social Security check under certain conditions, but it is not always advantageous to do so. Sometimes it is much better to apply for these types of benefits a little earlier, delaying them in order to get a larger monthly dollar amount.
What mistakes should Social Security beneficiaries avoid?
When it comes to getting a Social Security check, there are several things to avoid. While some have a direct impact on the amount we receive each month, there are other items that do not change the money we receive each month.
But they do influence a retiree’s life and can cause them to have more or less money each month. So pay attention to these mistakes you should avoid if you are thinking about collecting Social Security or if you have already started receiving retirement money.
Not maxing out the check
If we don’t maximize our Social Security payment, we are making a huge mistake. Within our means we should always get the biggest check possible. To do this, we must maximize three elements:
- Retirement age. The later we retire, the better check we will get.
- Years worked. Working 35 years is the ideal number to get a good monthly Social Security amount.
- Having a good salary. With a large salary we will pay more taxes and our retirement money will depend on those taxes.
Having debts while collecting Social Security
When you start collecting Social Security, you should never have debts. If we reach retirement with debt, we are likely to have very big financial problems. It is not a good idea to collect just a retirement check and then have to pay a large part of it in mortgage or credit.
For that reason, eliminating all debt before you start collecting your retirement benefit is very important. This should be on our priority list.
Not thinking about health
Life expectancy is getting longer and longer and not thinking about health is a huge mistake. If we don’t think about it, we will end up paying a lot of money in doctors, whether we have Medicare or not.
For that reason, even before we start collecting Social Security, we need to stay healthy. We can have an exercise routine, eat healthy and do many other things to avoid a big deterioration of our health.
Not saving part of Social Security
The most important thing when you start collecting Social Security is to always have enough money for all of your expenses. That is why it is so important to save part of the retirement benefit. We should not spend all of the money in the check every month.
Likewise, when we have a salary as a worker, we should also save money every month. This is the best way to have enough money for much longer.
Social Security as the only source of income
It is not easy to have a source of income outside of Social Security during retirement. This condition is not for all citizens, but we should try to achieve it. In the case of not having an extra source of income we should look for it.
It does not matter if we are looking for a business that gives us money, investments or savings. The important thing is that we do not depend 100% on the Social Security money, since in the long run it could be a very important problem.