Alexander Joyce serves as president and CEO of ReJoyce Financial, a retirement planning firm located in greater Indianapolis, Indiana. As a registered National Social Security Advisor (NSSA), Alexander Joyce provides client education on how to maximize social security payouts.
To determine what you will receive from social security, the government calculates your income through your 35 highest-earning years and develops a payout system based on the age at which you retire. This means that a person with only 30 working years may need to work an extra five. Otherwise, the implied five years of zero earnings can decrease your average significantly.
Adding work years can also improve your payout levels by delaying the age at which you first start receiving benefits. Just as you can choose to receive smaller checks if you retire between age 62 and your full retirement age, which ranges from 65 to 67 depending on your birth year, you can increase your benefit if you work longer. For each year past full retirement age that you work, up to the age of 70, you receive approximately 8 percent more in benefits.
If you are married or divorced, must also consider spousal benefits, which equal half of a partner's retirement benefit. Widowed individuals can receive the full amount of the spouse's benefit, depending on whether he or she chooses to take the payout. Since these totals can change based on when you and/or your spouse take benefits and how long each of you work past the age of collection, you may wish to consult with a financial professional to determine what would be best for your individual situation.
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