3 Social Security Secrets for Even Bigger Checks

Ideally, Social Security won't be your only income source in retirement, but rather one of several. Still, it pays to get as much money as you can out of the program, especially since it's supposed to keep paying you for the rest of your life. If you're eager to score a higher benefit, here are a few tactics to employ.

Some people assume that Social Security pays a single universal benefit and that everyone gets the same amount each month in retirement. Not so.

Benefits are calculated for each individual: namely, based on the amount you earn during your 35 highest-paid years in the workforce. Now you may reach a point in, say, your 60s where you're looking to retire but you're also earning a lot more money than you did in your 30s, 40s, or 50s.

Source Fool.com