3 Social Security Mistakes That Could Cost You a Fortune
Chances are, Social Security will play an important role in your finances during retirement, so it's important to get as much out of those benefits as possible. But the wrong moves on your part could cause you to lose out on money that's vital to your financial wellbeing later in life. Here are three such mistakes it pays to avoid at all costs.
Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your 35 highest-paid years on the job. If you don't work 35 years, you'll have a $0 factored in for each year you're without an income. And that's something it pays to consider if your plan is to retire early.
Of course, some workers retire early out of necessity more so than choice. In fact, an estimated 48% of people leave the workforce earlier than planned, largely due to reasons like job loss or health issues. But if you have the option not to retire early and you're missing a few years of earnings to get to 35, then it pays to extend your career to avoid that hit to your benefits.
Source Fool.com
