If you haven’t tapped your Social Security benefits yet, you may be able to boost how much you’ll get from the government over your lifetime.
Making a few small tweaks can increase your payouts by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Here are five steps you can take.
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1. Work an extra year or two
The Social Security Administration uses your lifetime earnings, claiming age and cost of living adjustments to determine your benefits. The longer you wait to claim Social Security benefits, the more you will receive each month. However, there is an additional perk that comes with working longer.
Working an extra few years will likely affect your lifetime earnings. The Social Security Administration looks at your 35 highest-earning years to calculate your benefits. Since people typically earn higher salaries later in their careers, you can work a year or two more to replace a lower-earning year among the 35 years that Social Security will review with a higher-paying one.
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2. Use spousal and survivor benefits strategically
Claiming Social Security gets a little more complicated for spouses, especially if they are different ages. However, there are some ways spouses can strategically claim Social Security. Some couples have the lower-earner claim their Social Security first so the couple can live off those benefits and other income sources. Then, when the higher-earner claims their benefit, it will have grown more than the lower earner’s benefit would have.
The longer each spouse delays benefits, the more they will earn in the long run. Delaying Social Security also increases the survivorship benefit. Retirees can prolong their need to tap into Social Security by working longer or using their nest eggs as a bridge.
3. Understand the earnings test
If you are under the full retirement age — 66 or 67, depending on when you were born — Social Security will withhold some of your benefits based on a formula. In 2026, $1 is deducted for every $2 that you earn above $24,480. If you are at full retirement age, $1 is withheld for every $3 above $65,160 in annual income. This latter rule only applies in the months prior to reaching full retirement age, but then this limit no longer applies, and no more benefits are withheld.
This “earnings test” will determine how much of your Social Security is withheld. You will gradually get the withheld amount back through higher Social Security benefits once you reach full retirement age. Note that the program does not count investment income, pensions, annuities and interest in its earnings test
It’s important to understand the ins and outs of how the earnings test will impact your benefit so that you can determine the best time to claim your benefits — and make moves that allow you to wait until you’re not working to claim. You can also use the Social Security Administration’s earnings test calculator to help make your decision.
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4. Assess your tax situation
While the earnings test only applies if you are below full retirement age, you always have to monitor the tax impact on Social Security benefits. Your benefits become taxable if your combined income (your adjusted gross income, non-taxable interest and half of benefits) exceeds $25,000 if you are single or $32,000 for people who are married filing jointly.
Up to 50% of your benefits are taxable if your income ranges from $25,000 to $34,000 (or $32,000 to $44,000 for married couples filing jointly). Then, up to 85% of your benefits are taxable if your income is above $34,000 (or over $44,000 for married couples).
Some retirees use the “bridge strategy,” which entails tapping retirement savings accounts before tapping Social Security. This allows them to put off claiming and have their benefits grow, and can potentially lower your tax burden and future required minimum distributions (RMDs) from traditional retirement accounts later in life.
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5. Track annual COLA changes
Cost of living adjustments (COLA) will boost your Social Security benefits. These adjustments help retirees keep up with inflation and make it more feasible for them to cover everyday expenses. These COLA changes may also change the tax situation for your benefits, so it's important to keep track of any changes to your benefits.
