3 Social Security Strategies to Bankroll Your Retirement

Whether Social Security ends up representing the bulk of your retirement income or just a portion of it, it's important to get as much out of the program as you can. And if you expect your benefits to cover most of your living costs, then it pays to adopt these effective strategies.

Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on the amount of money you earn during your 35 highest-paid years in the workforce. Many people therefore assume that they'll need to continuously snag raises at work in order to boost their benefits down the line. But there's another strategy you can try as well.

These days, side hustles are all the rage. Whether it's pet-sitting on weekends, doing graphic design a few evenings a week, or moonlighting as a driver for a ride-hailing service, there's plenty of opportunity to earn some money on top of what your main job pays you. And the cash you earn from your side gig counts toward calculating your eventual Social Security benefit.

Source Fool.com