Are you married, single, a widow(er), divorced, the primary wage earner, or any other scenario? You probably know that the first date when you are eligible to receive benefits is age 62. This age might be the most prudent one for you to claim your benefits and maximize them. Another specific term which you may have heard of is Full Retirement Age (FRA). This is the age where you are eligible to receive 100% of your monthly benefits, where at age 62 you will only receive 75% of your monthly Benefit. This is based on the date of your birth and for now, it is a combination of 66 and a certain amount of months, and if you are born after 1960 it is 67. If you would wait to age 70 you could actually receive 132% of your monthly benefits.

Is Maximizing Social Security Complicated?

The Maximization of your Social Security Benefits is highly personal, as well as being highly complicated. In fact, if you were to contact the Social Security Administration, they are legally prevented from providing advice on the strategy that will maximize your benefits. The only information that you will receive when you contact the administration is your actual monthly benefits amount or PIA.

Social Security Eligibility

In addition to the complexity of when to claim your Social Security benefits you also need to know what makes you eligible to receive benefits. They are and this list is not comprehensive:

1. Work at least 10 years.
2. Earn 40 credits.
3. Pay Social Security Taxes.

There are other areas that we could discuss with the requirements but for now, these are the most important to consider.

Personalized Social Security Options

Because the maximization of your Social Security Benefits is of such high importance as our society continues to live longer, you will need to consider the option that makes the most sense for your individual situation. If you are not currently up to date on all of the nuances of Social Security, the options for claiming, and Maximizing your benefits that you are entitled to, you can contact a specialist here at Pinnacle Financial that can take you through the high-level important discussion points necessary to inform a client on the strategy that benefits them the most for their specific situation.

There are a number of Social Security Maximization strategies and solutions that can truly assist a client in living the best retirement that they deserve. This can be one of the most important discussions that you have with a client prior to their retirement and is necessary education that you need in order to truly assist your clients in navigating and securing their best retirement.