5 Tricks to Help Boost Retirement Benefits

The payment of social security benefits will play an important financial role in your life after retirement. Naturally, you will want to get as much money as possible.

Фото: Depositphotos

Wcfcourier offers several ways to increase your social benefits and prepare for a financially secure future.

1. Work full 35 years

Your social security benefits are calculated by averaging your wages over the 35 highest paid years at work, adjusting them for your inflation rate and applying a special formula to that number. But if you do not work full 35 years, you will receive $ 0 for each year without income.

2. Retire as late as possible

Once your monthly social security benefit is determined based on your earnings history, you will have the right to receive it in full after reaching retirement age, or FRA. This is the age of 66, 67 years or somewhere in between, depending on the year of your birth. However, if you defer receiving a pension after the FRA, you can increase the amount by 8% per year, until the time you turn 70 years old. Whatever increase you choose, it will remain valid for the rest of your life.

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3. Check your annual earnings reports for errors

Your social security benefits are based on what you earn, so if the Social Security Administration (SSA) stores incorrect information about your income in a file, this can lead to a reduction in your benefits. How to find out what is recorded in SSA?

It's simple: check your annual income statements.

If you are 60 or older, you will receive earnings reports by mail. If not, you need to create an account on the SSA website to access this information. But be sure to check the data annually, because if the SSA shows less revenue than the one that you actually contributed, and you correct this error, your pension may increase.

4. Strive for promotion at work throughout your career

The more money you earn during your working years, the higher your pension will be. This is why it’s important to fight for promotion while you work.

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5. Retire in a state without social security tax

Typically, you will pay federal taxes on your social security benefits if you are not a low-income person. But if you try not to retire in those states where there is a social security tax, you can save yourself more money. Payments are now taxed to one degree or another in the 13 states:

• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Minnesota
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Vermont
• West Virginia

If you retire in another state, you can avoid paying taxes. But keep in mind that the total cost of living may be lower in some of the above states than in a state that does not tax your social benefits.

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