2 Little-Known Social Security Rules Can Increase Your Monthly Benefits by Up to 77% (Even If You're Already Collecting Benefits)
The age at which you claim your Social Security benefits will have a big impact on their size. If a person who had average earnings throughout their working life files for Social Security at 62 this year, their benefits will replace roughly 30% of their pre-retirement income. But if that same person delays taking benefits until they turn 70, their checks will be equivalent to more than 50% of their pre-retirement income.
Despite this, roughly 25% of eligible U.S. workers claim Social Security at 62, and the vast majority do so well before they turn 70. Anyone who claims early is choosing to receive a smaller monthly benefit in exchange for getting a larger total number of checks, and some people eventually come to regret that decision.
Fortunately, two little-known Social Security rules can in some cases allow those early filers to reverse course, giving them the chance to increase the size of their monthly benefits by up to 77%.
Source Fool.com
