One Social Security Move That Might Define Your Retirement’s Success

According to a recent poll, 85% of retired Americans rely on Social Security income. And 40% said they rely entirely on their monthly checks in retirement.

Because Social Security provides a significant portion of income for many seniors, it’s essential to make the most of your benefits.

Fortunately, there are things you may do to increase the size of your checks. One move might make or break your retirement—and it only takes a few minutes.

Most individuals won’t be able to retire on Social Security alone. However, knowing how much you may expect in benefits can make it easier to predict how much you’ll need to save by yourself.

The sooner you check the amount of your benefit, the better. Retirement saving takes time, and if you learn that you’ll need to save more than you thought, it’s best to know now while there’s still time to plan.

If you want to check your estimated benefit amount, you must first register a mySocialSecurity account if you haven’t already. You may then log in and review your statements, which will provide an approximation of your future benefits based on your actual earnings.

Consider the following points

Once you’ve determined your expected benefit amount, there are a few more considerations to bear in mind to make the most of Social Security.

Your estimate is based on the assumption that you’ll file at your full retirement age. Depending on the year you were born, your FRA is between 66 and 67. Claiming at this age ensures you obtain the entire benefit amount depending on your earnings record. The amount of your payments will be affected whether you submit before or after this age.

Your benefit amount may alter as follows. The online estimation is based on your earnings history. If your earnings change significantly between now and retirement, your future benefit amount will also change.

Your plans should consider your spouse’s benefits: Even if your spouse is not eligible for benefits based on their own employment history, they may qualify for spousal benefits. It’ll be easier to estimate your savings target once you know how much you may expect from your own benefits and prospective spousal benefits.

It’s challenging to save for retirement, but knowing how much to expect from Social Security will make it simpler to plan.

What about benefit cutbacks in the future?

Potential benefit cuts are a difficult surprise to plan for, no matter how well you prepare.

The Social Security Administration is now experiencing a liquidity crunch. Although the situation is convoluted, the simple truth is that if lawmakers don’t reach an agreement by 2035, payouts might be reduced by 20%.

To be clear, no one is sure whether or not this will occur. Washington has presented various potential remedies, but legislators have yet to reach an agreement – and this uncertainty might jeopardize your retirement plans.

While there may be little you can do about anticipated benefit changes, you may be extra cautious by increasing the size of your retirement savings. If you plan for retirement with the expectation of receiving 20% less than expected from Social Security, the worst-case scenario is that you have more funds than you need if benefits aren’t reduced.

It’s uncertain what the future holds for Social Security, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead. You may make the most of Social Security by verifying your benefit amount online and saving accordingly.

Contact Information:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9568933225

Bio:
Rick Viader is a Federal Retirement Consultant that uses proven strategies to help federal employees achieve their financial goals and make sure they receive all the benefits they worked so hard to achieve.

In helping federal employees, Rick has seen the need to offer retirement plan coaching where Human Resources departments either could not or were not able to assist. For almost 14 years, Rick has specialized in using federal government benefits and retirement systems to maximize retirement incomes.

His goals are to guide federal employees to achieve their financial goals while maximizing their retirement incomes.