Maximize My Social Security helps you decide when to collect your retirement, spousal, survivor, divorcee, parent, and child benefits.

This online program collects data about your family, your earnings, and your intended benefit collection dates. It shows you the annual values of the different benefits you will receive and which benefit collection dates provide you with the highest lifetime benefits.

Maximize My Social Security takes into account the earnings test, reductions for early retirement, the re-computation of benefits, the delayed retirement credit, the family benefit maximum, the windfall elimination provision, the government offset provision, and the option to file and suspend collection of retirement benefits.

As discussed in this case study, deciding when to take Social Security is a highly complex decision. But making the right decision can make a very substantial difference to your old-age income and living standard.

Unfortunately, what's best for one household is not best for another. In addition, Social Security Administration's rules are so complex as to make it virtually impossible for anyone without a well programmed computer to make intelligent collection date decisions. This is why we constructed Maximize My Social Security, to give users suggestions about what collection dates are best.