Let’s start with the fact that there is no Social Security bonus. There are ways to boost your retirement benefits.
You should maximize your payouts since they may last decades. These steps are foolproof ways to increase your Social Security checks.
Social Security Bonus
The Social Security Administration calculates your benefit based on a complex formula that factors in your top 35 years of earnings.
The key to getting a bonus in your Social Security check is filling in the grid with as many high-earning years as possible before you retire, whether or not you have 35 years of earnings or whether or not you earned much in some of those years.
Wait as Long as You Can
The other significant factor in determining the size of your check is your age at the time of application. The full retirement age for the majority of current workers is 67 years old. Eligible retirees can begin collecting benefits as early as age 62 and as late as age 70.
Taking Social Security benefits early at age 62 will result in a permanent reduction of up to 30%. The situation is reversed if you wait until you’re 70. An 8% bonus will be added to your monthly benefits for each year that you delay claiming past your full retirement age.
Check Spousal Benefits
You may be eligible for spousal benefits even if you’ve never worked a day in your life. These can reach up to fifty percent of your spouse’s benefit if you wait until full retirement age to file.
If you were initially married for at least 10 years, you may be eligible for spousal benefits even after divorce. Depending on your work history, it is highly likely that you will be eligible for a spousal benefit bonus that exceeds your own payment.
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Remember the Annual COLA
The annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is the closest thing that offers a “bonus.” The Administration annually reviews benefit payments and increases them based on the then-current rate of inflation.
Since inflation was extremely low in some years (2010, 2011, and 2016), the cost of living adjustment (COLA) was set at 0% in those years. In January 2022 and 2023, however, recipients received a substantial bonus in the form of a 5.8% and 8.7% COLA, respectively, which was the largest upward revision since July 1982.
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