[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/can-you-increase-your-social-security-benefits-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/can-you-increase-your-social-security-benefits-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/","headline":"Can You Increase Your Social Security Benefits?","name":"Can You Increase Your Social Security Benefits?","description":"\u201cAll you have to do is type \u2018maximize Social Security\u2019 into Google or any other search engine and you will get hundreds, if not thousands, of hits.\u201d The desire to get the largest possible benefits from Social Security is a relatively new phenomenon. For decades, people received their monthly benefit check and that was it. […]","datePublished":"2021-03-09","dateModified":"2023-07-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/#Person","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso LLP","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/","identifier":5,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b026bdec2965e.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/6a01901dd0a082970b026bdec2965e.jpg","height":853,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/can-you-increase-your-social-security-benefits-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/","about":["Elder Law","Estate Planning","Full Retirement Age \/ FRA","Retirement","Social Security","Surviving Spouse"],"wordCount":530,"keywords":["Elder Law","Estate Planning","FRA","Full Retirement Age","Retirement","Social Security Administration","Surviving Spouse"],"articleBody":"\u201cAll you have to do is type \u2018maximize Social Security\u2019 into Google or any other search engine and you will get hundreds, if not thousands, of hits.\u201dThe desire to get the largest possible benefits from Social Security is a relatively new phenomenon. For decades, people received their monthly benefit check and that was it. However, in the late 1990s, a new law let seniors over age 66 work without any reduction in benefits, says the article “Social Security & You: Seniors obsess over \u2018maximizing\u2019 their Social Security” from Tuscon.com. The law led to loopholes that became known as \u201cfile and suspend\u201d and \u201cfile and restrict.\u201d In a nutshell, they allowed retirees to collect dependent spousal benefits on a spouse\u2019s Social Security record, while delaying their own benefits until age 70.Congress eventually realized that these loopholes violated the basic concept of the program. Benefits to spouses were always known as \u201cdependent\u201d benefits. To claim benefits as a spouse, you had to prove that you were financially dependent upon the other spouse to collect benefits on their record. However, the loophole let people who were the primary wage earner in the family claim benefits as a \u201cdependent\u201d of the other spouse. Five years ago, Congress closed that loophole.More specifically, Congress closed the ability to file-and-suspend. It also put file-and-restrict on notice. If you turned 66 before January 2020, you could still wiggle through that loophole, and there are some people who are still eligible. That\u2019s where the term \u201cmaximizing your benefits\u201d originated.Can you get a bigger Social Security check if you don\u2019t fit into the exception noted above? The only real strategy to maximizing your benefits is simply to wait. The equation is simple. If you wait until your Full Retirement Age (FRA), you will receive 100% of your benefit rate. If you can wait until age 70, you\u2019ll receive 132% of your benefit.In some households, the higher income earner waits until age 70 to file for retirement, so that the surviving spouse will one day receive higher surviving spouse benefits.But that\u2019s not the best advice for everyone. If you or your spouse suffer from a chronic illness, it may not make sense to wait.If you or your spouse have lost your jobs, as so many have because of the pandemic, then Social Security may be the safety net that you need until you are able to return to some form of paid employment.There may be other reasons why you might need to take your benefits earlier, even earlier than your FRA. Some households start taking their Social Security benefits at age 62 as a way to augment other income.If you don\u2019t already have a \u201cMy Social Security\u201d account set up on the Social Security Administration\u2019s portal, now is the time to do so. The Social Security Administration stopped sending annual statements years ago, but you can go into your account and download the statements yourself and start planning for your future.Reference: Tuscon.com (Feb. 10, 2021) “Social Security & You: Seniors obsess over \u2018maximizing\u2019 their Social Security”For more information on elder law, retirement planning and estate planning, please visit my estate planning website."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can You Increase Your Social Security Benefits?","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/can-you-increase-your-social-security-benefits-white-plains-ny-greenwich-ct\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]