Ask Larry

How Can I Get Extra Benefits?

ordered and received your book,getwhatsyours.i found nothing regarding a ever married man who filedforSS.early after losing my job at 64yrs.old.could youadvisemeonanyxtrabenefits?thankyousir.

Hi. My answer assumes that you've never been married. Larry's book covers a wide range of claiming strategies that depend on the type(s) of benefits that a person may be eligible for, but if you've never married then it narrows your options substantially. There are only 2 types of benefits that can be paid based on a person's own earnings, specifically Social Security retirement benefits and Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits.

You don’t mention having a disability, so you probably can’t qualify for any benefits other than the Social Security retirement benefits that you’re apparently already collecting. Once you start drawing your Social Security retirement benefits there are only 2 ways that you can potentially increase your monthly benefit amount. One would be by working and earning more than you did in one or more of your previous highest 35 years of wage indexed earnings on which your current benefit amount is based. The other would be to suspend your benefits between your full retirement age (FRA) and age 70 in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC).

You don't mention your current age, but if you've already reached age 70 then it would be too late to suspend your benefits in order to earn DRCs. You still could, though, increase your benefit rate by earning more in a future year than you did in one of your previous highest 35 years of earnings, regardless of your age at the time you produce the new earnings.

Best, Jerry

Category: 
Posted: 
Jun 20 2021 - 2:30pm
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