Reading up on Social Security is something everyone should do. But let's face it -- there are probably other activities you'd rather spend time on.
Given the choice between curling up with an exciting new novel or digging into Social Security's many rules, you'd probably choose the former if you were stuck home on a weekend. But that doesn't mean the latter isn't extremely important -- especially once you're retired and actually receiving monthly benefits.
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There are certain lesser-known Social Security rules that are helpful to know even once you've made your decision to sign up for benefits. And one key rule could help you boost your monthly checks even after you've filed.
Introducing Social Security's do-over option
When you make a mistake, you don't always get an opportunity to undo it. But in the case of Social Security, you have options for undoing your filing if you regret your decision to sign up for benefits.
Why might that be the case? The earliest age to sign up for Social Security is 62. But you don't get your complete monthly benefit based on your personal income history until you reach full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
If you claim Social Security ahead of full retirement age and reduce your monthly benefit for life as a result, you may end up kicking yourself after the fact. That's because it can be tricky to estimate your living expenses in retirement until you actually leave your job.
Say you put in your notice to retire at 62 and sign up for Social Security that same month so you can start getting benefits as soon as your paychecks from work stop. You may not realize until you're a few months into retirement that those smaller monthly benefits are going to make it difficult to keep up with your expenses on an ongoing basis. That's where the do-over comes in handy.
What the do-over does is let you withdraw your application for Social Security benefits, repay the benefits you've received to date, and file for benefits at a later point in time. That could result in much larger monthly checks, depending on what you decide to do.
The tricky thing is that you only get a year to exercise your do-over, and you can only use this option once in your lifetime. But if you're on Social Security and aren't happy with the monthly benefits you're getting, it's an option worth considering.
Get as educated on Social Security as possible
Learning about Social Security may not exactly excite you. But understanding the program's rules -- even those that are not so well-known -- could help you improve your retirement finances.
Another thing you may not know about Social Security, for example, is that you can work while receiving benefits. But the rules there are also a bit complex because if you do so before reaching full retirement age, you'll risk having some benefits withheld if you exceed certain earnings thresholds.
So, again, the best thing you can do for yourself is get educated on Social Security. The more knowledge you have, the better advantage you can take of the program as a whole.
