For most United States citizens, attaining a good Social Security check is critical if they want to have a peaceful retirement with enough money to pay all of their monthly bills. However, this conflicts with the need for some to apply for Social Security as soon as possible.
The Early Retirement Age is age 62. Getting a check at that time means losing 30% of the monthly money the Social Security Administration sends us. For some, this 30% can be devastating, as there is a very big difference between collecting $1,000 a month and getting a check for $700 a month.
Still, we can try to make that 30% reduced check less of a change in our day-to-day lives. It is important to keep in mind that we can increase our check, so we should do everything we can to get Social Security to pay us the maximum amount without the need to wait until age 67.
Tricks to increase your check with an Early Retirement Age
There are three elements that directly influence the Social Security benefit. The first of these is the retirement age. With this element we can do nothing if we have the plan to apply for check at age 62, so we have to increase as much as possible the other two aspects.
Therefore, we must take into account the following:
- Work for at least 35 years. This must be indispensable. To have a good Social Security check, even having 30% less due to Early Retirement Age, it is necessary to work for 35 years. Each year worked below this number will mean a huge reduction in the monthly payment, so we must not forget this.
- Have a high salary. Higher salaries pay more taxes. And our Social Security checks depend on the taxes we have paid as workers. So, we can draw the conclusion that having a high salary will result in a better pension benefit.
While it is true that reaching the check of $4,558 per month is impossible if we plan to retire at age 62, we can reach a very high figure.
Other ways to earn income
The Social Security check should not be the only source of income we have during retirement. This advice applies to retirees aged 62, 65 or 67. It doesn’t matter what your Retirement Age is in this case. Social Security money should always be supplemented with some other income.
If possible, we should also add extra money from savings every month. The more savings we have when we start collecting our Social Security check, the better retirement we will have.