Remember growing up and your parents would emphasize the importance of being patient?
We seem to have lost all of that learning in our fast-paced culture, but there is stone cold PROOF that you can get paid for being patient.
Whenever I talk about the profitability of patience, it always amazes people, but bear with me…
Because I’m about to show you how all those rules you learned growing up are finally about to pay off in retirement…
To maximize how much you can get paid for your patience, you first need to understand a few rules:
Rule #1: The waiting game
The simplest social security rule to live by is to be patient, even if it means you must sacrifice a little bit right now. The way social security is set up, the most powerful strategy you can employ in almost any situation is to wait from the time you could start receiving benefits to the time you should start claiming them, which is when those benefits are maxed out.
Here are the most influential examples of this strategy at work:
- Spousal benefits are 43% higher at full retirement age (this age varies depending on when you were born but think age 65 – 67) than at 62 (the age you have the option to start claiming benefits).
- Survivor benefits are 40% at your full retirement age than at 60.
- Basic retirement benefits are 76% higher at age 70 than at age 62!
So, from the age you can start claiming benefits to the time those benefits are maxed out, the act of waiting is essentially you job…
Rule #2: What are you entitled to?
In addition to retirement benefits, there are 9 other benefits you may have access to. This is just a simple matter of knowing what’s available and if you qualify for it. People leave money on the table all the time because just because they don’t know the money is theirs to claim.
From widower benefits to spousal benefits to divorced widower benefits and everything in between, make sure you know if YOU should be claiming more than just retirement benefits when the time is right.
Rule #3: Timing, Timing, Timing
As it is with trading stocks, timing is everything when it comes to social security as well. But the perfect timing will vary from one retiree to the next.
It comes down to a mixture of age and size of different retirement benefits between yourself and your spouse.
There would be 1 perfect timing for you if your full retirement benefit is larger than half of your spouse’s full retirement benefit. But your perfect timing would be entirely different if your age-70 retirement benefit is less than your spouse’s full retirement benefit.
Figure out the numbers and then ensure you find the perfect timing for you. Not doing so could cost you thousands in retirement income.
It’s a lot to take in, but it’s all very simple. If you can follow those simple rules, you’ll see how you can start getting paid for your patience.
