70 million Americans were receiving Social Security payments in 2019 and 2020 to help them get by during retirement.
Everyone who works most jobs pays Social Security taxes with their wages, and that’s what retired people rely on.
COLA increases happen yearly to help keep up with inflation, and some years it stays the same.
This means seniors need to keep all the benefits they can.
Here are three mistakes to avoid that could cost you up to $48,000 in Social Security benefits
You need to pay attention to your yearly earnings.
What you’re paid is based on what you earned throughout your working years.
The average you’re paid is determined by your 35 highest earning years.
Social Security: What benefits can you see if you retire when you’re 62?
This means you want to be sure you’re paying attention to your statements so you’re getting paid the most you can.
The difference between a 35 year salary of $50,000 and $55,000 adjusted for inflation could be hundreds of dollars a month.
Another mistake you don’t want to make is claiming too early.
The earlier you claim, the lower your benefit will be.
Social Security: Avoid these mistakes to see the biggest payments
By not waiting until your full retirement age and retiring as soon as you can at 62, you could see a 30% reduction in benefits.
If you retire at your full retirement age, then you’ll see 100% of your benefits.
Retiring at age 70 will give you the most, and increase benefits around 8% each year between your FRA and age 70.
Finally, you don’t want to fail to claim spousal benefits.
You can claim these if your partner is getting Social Security.
It may be a good idea if they made more money than you.
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