Jonathan Peterson

Social Security is part of nearly every American’s life in retirement, if not sooner. If you’re like most people, you’re aware that when you start collecting retirement benefits affects how much money you get, but you’re not sure what that means for you. Armed with answers to some key questions, you can get the most out of your Social Security retirement benefits.

Copyright © 2015 AARPAfter you figure out your full retirement age, you can get a ballpark idea of your monthly benefit. Currently, the average retirement benefit is about $1,328 per month (in January 2015), but benefits go much higher, depending on your earnings history and when you begin collecting. It’s easy to get at least a rough estimate of your retirement benefits.

Copyright © 2015 AARP In business for yourself? The Social Security Administration considers you self‐employed if you operate a trade, business, or profession. You can be a one‐person operation, or maybe you have partners. Either way, you face a particular set of Social Security rules — and realities. Many self‐employed people are admirably independent and thrive on running their own show.

In the course of a year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has tens of millions of direct contacts with the public, in field offices and over the phone. These contacts range from simple queries for information to emotionally charged concerns about benefits that can have a huge impact on a person’s monthly income.

Copyright © 2015 AARP A break‐even analysis compares what you get in your lifetime if you pick different dates to collect Social Security. It’s a way to estimate your total payoff from retiring at an earlier date (with reduced monthly payments) and retiring at a later date (with higher monthly payments). In general, if you die before reaching the break‐even age, and you started collecting benefits at the earlier date, you come out ahead.

Copyright © 2020 AARPSocial Security faces a shortfall. To pay benefits, Social Security will increasingly rely on its trust funds because revenues from the payroll tax aren’t sufficient. After about 2035, when the trust funds are exhausted, the program is projected to have enough income to cover about 80 percent of promised benefits.