Garrison Keillor, an entertainer, and storyteller is known for his Lake Wobegon tales. Most of us prefer to think we’re beyond average in various ways, including our appearance, driving ability, IQ, and so on.
We can’t modify some aspects of ourselves, such as our Iq tests, to perform well than average, but we can change others — and here’s a good example: Benefits from Social Security. The monthly average Social Security retirement payment was just $1,661 per month or approximately $20,000 per year in recent months. Luckily, you can do a few things to boost your benefits even further. Here are three of them.
Do Not Begin Collecting Your Benefits Until The End Of The Month
To begin with, you have the option of deferring your benefits. For most of us, our “full retirement age” (FRA) is 66 or 67 years old or somewhere in between. It is the age at which we can begin getting the full range of benefits to which we are entitled based on our earnings history. However, we can start collecting at the age of 62 and continue until we are 70 years old.
Begin gathering early, and your paychecks will be shorter, but you’ll get a lot more of them, so it’s not as bad as it seems. Those who are sick have a shorter life expectancy or just need extra money right away.
While You’re Employed, You Can Earn Additional Money
Then, set a goal to earn more money. For anyone with an average income, the benefit is $1,661. To obtain a larger payout, you merely need to have generated over 50% of beneficiaries.
So, consider how you may make extra money. You could do a side business for several years or for a long time. That, too, is not always a chore. You could travel and deliver food in restaurants to people who purchased their internet or teach local kids how to play the guitar. Another alternative is to do freelancing that you can discover on online freelance platforms or make and sell handicrafts online, reports Lake Geneva News.
Work For Extended Periods Of Time
Finally, put in more time. Your Social Security payments are calculated by averaging your wages over the 35 years wherein you received the one most. So, if you’ve only been working for thirty years when you retire, the calculation will include five zeros at the very least, attempt to work for 35 years.
If you’ve been employed for 35 years and are making significantly more than you were before, consider continuing for another few years since each elevated year will eliminate your smallest year from the equation.
