HOUSTON – If you plan to rely on your Social Security benefits to get by after retirement, you will likely not have enough to pay your monthly expenses.
Making matters worse, there are several Social Security myths that are costing older Americans thousands of dollars in lost benefits.
Here is what you need to know:
Myth No. 1:
You need their social security benefits now because when you are retirement age, the Social Security system will be dried up.
Fact:
According to Clarity Financial advisor Richard Rosso, even if everyone stopped paying in today, the current system has enough to pay out benefits through 2034. Clearly, people are still paying in. The system should remain solvent for a long time.
Myth No. 2:
You should take your Social Security benefit early and invest the money each month so that when you need it, you will have earned more.
Fact:
Taking your benefit before full retirement age will mean you will lose up to 30% of your earned benefit each month. In today’s market, you can not make more in interest than what you will lose by taking your benefit early.
If you take your benefit at full retirement age, but before you are 70 years old, you may also not be able to make as much in interest as you will by waiting to take your benefit until you are 70.
For every year you don't take your benefits after retirement age until you're 70, you will get an extra 8% back each month when you do start collecting.
Myth No. 3:
Taking your spousal benefit will mean that your living spouse will bring in less each month.
Fact:
If you were born before January 1, 1954, and you are still working but you have a spouse who is collecting social security, you can file a restricted application to collect spousal benefits.
Your spouse will get their full benefit, and you would also get a check in addition to your own income.
You will benefit from letting your Social Security savings grow.
Get Prepared Now:
If you want to get started on planning how to get the most from your Social Security benefits, go to SSA.gov to get your statement and find out how much you will get each month if you stopped working today.
You can also work with a Social Security certified financial consultant to put together a Social Security analysis using your benefit and income information.