This could be the easiest strategy to get more Social Security

Once you retire, you’ll probably want to get as much money from Social Security as possible.

Even if you manage to save nicely for retirement, your nest egg could run out on you if it’s not managed carefully. Social Security, on the other hand, promises to pay you a monthly benefit for life. And the larger it is, the more financial security you get.

Plus, having more Social Security could buy you the freedom to enjoy retirement to the fullest. If your checks ends up being higher than anticipated, that could allow you to do things like travel more and enjoy more experiences with family and friends.

In this Reddit post, a number of strategies for boosting Social Security benefits are discussed. But there’s one that stands out as being the most efficient.

Delay your Social Security claim for larger monthly checks

There are different things you can do to get more generous Social Security benefits as a retiree. These include:

• Working longer
• Fighting for raises during your career
• Supplementing your wages with a side hustle

But perhaps the most effective strategy for boosting Social Security is delaying your claim past full retirement age (FRA).

FRA is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, and it’s when you’re entitled to your monthly Social Security benefit without a reduction. But for each year you wait to claim Social Security past FRA, your monthly benefit rises 8%.

Once you turn 70, you don’t get credit for delaying Social Security, so you might as well sign up at that point.

But all told, with an FRA of 67, you have an opportunity to lock in monthly Social Security checks that are 24% larger. All you need to do is wait.

How to set yourself up to claim Social Security at 70

While delaying Social Security until 70 is quite possibly the best way to increase your monthly benefits, it takes careful planning.

Unless you have a pile of savings to dip into, you may need to work until age 70 in order to be able to delay Social Security that long. But that might require you to build certain skills and maintain a work schedule that’s not optimal for you as you age.

A lot of people struggle to keep grinding once they reach their late 60s. So if your plan is to delay Social Security until age 70, you may need to do some mental exercises to prepare yourself.

That said, there may be an easier way. If you build up not only the right skills, but also the right contacts, you may be able to do consulting work during the tail end of your career instead of working full time. That could allow you to wait on Social Security while providing you with enough income to cover your near-term expenses.

With this setup, you may find that you’re not working as many hours as you otherwise would, and that your schedule is more flexible.

There’s nothing wrong with exploring different strategies for boosting your monthly Social Security benefits. And you should do that if you’re not confident in the amount of money you have saved.

But you should know that delaying Social Security until age 70 is probably the best way to guarantee yourself larger checks each month. You may want to set yourself up to sit tight so you can reap the long-term rewards.

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