Marie Cantone

June 2010

Do you know the five ways to be sure you get the biggest possible check from Social Security?

1. Patience Pays Off

The longer you wait, the bigger the check. But wait until your normal retirement age of 66 (for those born between 1943 and 1954; older for those born later) to collect and you can earn as much as you want without trimming your benefits.

2. Marriage Has Its Perks

Couples have the most flexibility. Say your husband's lifetime earnings are much higher than yours. You're ready to start collecting benefits based on his record, but your husband is not ready to retire. The solution: Once he reaches his normal retirement age, he can file and suspend, meaning that you can collect your share while he waits to collect benefits until later, when they will be worth more.

If you have comparable incomes, however, there's a little-known strategy that can boost your total household benefits. Say your wife wants to stop working but you don't. She can claim benefits based on her record. If you are at least 66, you can claim spousal benefits only on her record and put off collecting your own Social Security until age 70, when you qualify for the maximum payout.

3. But You Can Collect if You Decouple

You may be able to collect on your former spouse's benefits, as long as you were married for at least ten years and are 62 or older. (If you remarry, however, you can't collect based on your first spouse's record -- unless your second trip to the altar ends in divorce, annulment or death.) If your ex-spouse dies, you're entitled to a monthly survivor benefit (even if he or she remarried) equal to 100% of what your ex received during his or her lifetime -- assuming it's higher than your benefit. At that point, however, your benefit would disappear because you can't collect two checks.

4. Bide Your Time. Get a Bonus

If you wait until age 70 you can collect even more, thanks to the delayed-retirement credit, which is worth 8% a year..

5. Ask for a Do-Over

If you started collecting Social Security and wish you had waited in order to get a higher benefit, you can press the reset button. You'll need to pay back what you've received -- but the government won't charge you interest. And the taxes you paid? You can request a refund.

Marie Cantone

Innovative Planning Services

631-261-7748