In your golden years, your Social Security payments may be your largest source of income.

In May 2024, retirees pulled in around $1,917 in monthly benefits, but what you may receive will be affected by factors like how much you’ve earned over your career and at retirement age. The good news is that with careful planning, you can significantly boost what you’ll collect.

Collect later

You can begin collecting your Social Security payments as early as age sixty-two, but it may be a good idea to wait at least until your full retirement age (FRA) of sixty-six or sixty-seven, depending on the year you were born—or even up to age seventy to receive the maximum monthly benefit. Start at sixty-two, and your monthly payouts will be cut by approximately 30 percent at first; less will be deducted from your checks, however, as you approach your FRA. If you wait until after your FRA to start collecting social security, you may receive an additional 8 percent in your monthly benefits for every year you don’t collect up to age seventy, or at least 24 percent extra a month.

Work longer

Your Social Security payments will be based on the thirty-five years in which you earned the highest income. So if you can earn more now than you did earlier in your career, it may be beneficial for you to continue working a few more years to increase your payouts. If you haven’t accumulated at least thirty-five years of employment before retiring, zero dollars will be averaged in for the years you weren’t employed, lowering your monthly checks.

Also, by continuing to earn a paycheck, you may be able to postpone withdrawing from your (401)k or your IRA, allowing your investments to grow. Alternatively, if can’t work longer, consider using your retirement savings as a financial bridge so you can delay drawing your benefits.

Collect spousal benefits

A married person may have access to a portion of their partner’s payouts depending on factors like the couple’s ages and the recipient being responsible for a child under age sixteen. In addition, you may qualify for such benefits if you earned less than your spouse, even if the two of you got divorced or your partner passed away.

Ask for a suspension

If you’re under seventy and have reached your full retirement age, it might not be too late to maximize your payments—even if you’ve already started collecting them. You can ask the SSA to halt your benefits so you can earn delayed retirement credits for every month that they are suspended. They will automatically resume the month you turn seventy.

Know where you stand

The more you know about Social Security benefits, the better you may be able to maximize them. You can open your own account at SSA.gov to determine exactly how much you’ll receive. Or, for a rough calculation of how much you might receive, use the SSA’s Social Security Quick Calculator online. Also consider working with a financial professional to best position yourself to collect the most money possible.

By working proactively to maximize your social security payments, you can lay the groundwork for a happy retirement. For tips on this and creating a healthy retirement nest egg, reach out to a financial professional, who can chart the best course for you.