Don’t make too much money in retirement

If you want to start claiming your benefits but haven’t reached your full retirement age yet, you can earn up to $18.960 in 2021 before you lose $1 of benefits for every $2 you earn above this limit. Therefore, in order to maximize your benefits, you have to make sure that you don’t receive a bigger paycheck. Take into account that once you reach your full retirement age, you’re free to continue working without being “penalized” in any way for that choice.

Work at least 35 years

The Social Security benefit is calculated based on your average indexed monthly earnings during the 35 years in which you made the most. This means being part of the workforce for at least 35 years is a good method to make sure you get the highest amount possible. It might seem like a long period of time but if we assume you started your career at the age of 31, you could still work 35 years, claim your benefits at 65 and live your golden years the way you want.