Deciding on the right time and method to claim your Social Security benefits could mean the difference of up to $100,000 in benefits over your lifetime. Unfortunately, however, many hard-working Americans don’t fully understand how their benefits work and end up missing out on maximizing their Social Security retirement benefits.
People often minimize the value of Social Security, but Social Security benefits are more valuable than many people realize. First of all, Social Security is one of the few sources of income you can’t outlive. Actually, the longer you live, the more you’ll earn. If your benefit starts at $2,000 per month, and you live 10 more years, you’ll receive more than $300,000 in lifetime benefits. If you happen to live 30 more years, you’ll receive more than $1 million. These totals assume annual cost-of-living adjustments of 2.8%.
Another valuable feature of Social Security is that it offers survivor benefits. If you pass away, your spouse and dependent children can receive benefits based on your work record – like an automatic life insurance policy.
Although Social Security will not be enough to live off of in retirement, we can help you properly coordinate your benefits with your other retirement resources, so that Social Security can serve as the foundation upon which you build a comfortable retirement.
By doing all you can to maximize your social security benefits you can make sure to avoid leaving money on the table from this important retirement resource.
