Choosing when to retire and take a pension or Social Security checks is a very important and complicated decision that should not be taken lightly. While most older adults are aware of the intricacies of their financial situation and the impact of early retirement, often the realities of the decision do not manifest themselves until after it has been made and there is no more time to walk it back.
Retiring early can seem like a dream come true for many. Stop waking up early and slaving away at a job you may or may not like, having time for hobbies, taking care of family members improving your health while you still have time, travelling… All those fun things that you always wished you could do. But money is, as always the main part of the conversation that most people gloss over when they talk about early retirement, and once you start collecting checks from Social Security you are stuck in a payment bracket that is quite hard to escape from.
That is the reason why benefits are often referred to as fixed income, as once you have claimed them, your income base will remain the same and despite annual adjustments to keep up with inflation, you will never be able to really increase your pension unless you take measures that are outside of your past work history.
How to increase your Social Security benefits after retirement
There are a few ways one can increase their Social Security benefits, but one of the least known facts is that, even if you can claim benefits on your own record, it might be worth it to claim them on your spouse’s record as well, especially if they were high earners.
If you are married currently or have been married for more than ten years to a former spouse, you might be eligible to access benefits on their record. You will still need to fulfill some conditions, like being over 62 and they must have started claiming benefits as well, but as a general rule you should be able to claim benefits without many issues.
The maximum amount in benefits that you will receive from this claim is 50% of your spouse’s or former spouse’s Social Security payment, but depending on their career and yours that might be significantly more than what you can get on your own record.
Another way to increase your payments is to make sure that your own record has been properly recorded in the Social Security archives. It can be easy to discount early working years or times when your employment records were not particularly good, but as long as you were earning enough income to be taxed for Social Security purposes those years will count towards your benefits and having them included in the calculation will always be better than having a cero.
The most obvious way to increase your benefits, even after having claimed Social Security is to continue working. While this option is not a pleasant one, it is the easiest way to have more money. The good thing is that this time around the job that you get can be a lot more flexible. You can find part time work that is a lot less stressful and that can help you keep active, find a new line of work that you always wanted to explore or do sporadic consulting to keep your mind sharp. Without the pressure of everyday life and having to earn a living, as basic expenses are already covered by your benefits, any extra that you can do to improve your income will just increase your quality of life.