The great majority of Americans depend on Social Security to some degree during their golden years. In fact, 40% of retired workers get more than half of their income from Social Security benefits, and 13% are entirely dependent on the program. Suffice it to say, Social Security is an indispensible source of financial well-being in later life, so current workers should do everything in their power to maximize their benefit payments.

With that in mind, two variables affect the size of the Social Security benefit paid to retired workers: lifetime earnings and age. The more money someone makes during their lifetime and the longer they wait to claim retirement benefits (up to age 70), the bigger their Social Security payments will be. Of course, workers have more control over the second variable, which raises the question: What is the best age to start Social Security?

Images source: Getty Images.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com