3 Easy Ways to Increase Your Social Security Benefits -- for Life
Social Security benefits can make the difference between barely scraping by in retirement and living a comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. For many people, those monthly checks are also the main source of income in retirement. In fact, approximately half of baby boomers say they expect to rely primarily on Social Security benefits to get by in retirement, according to a survey from American Advisors Group.
If you're expecting Social Security to help you make ends meet during your senior years, it's important to maximize your benefits the best way you can. One way to do that is to delay claiming benefits past your full retirement age (FRA) -- which is age 67 for those born in 1960 or later or either 66 or 66 and a few months for those born before 1960. By waiting to claim until after that age (up to age 70), you'll receive extra money each month on top of your full amount -- up to 24% extra if you have an FRA of 67 years old.
However, waiting to claim Social Security isn't the only way to maximize your monthly checks. There are also a few other ways you can increase your benefits for the rest of your life.
Source Fool.com
